





COMPLETE MANUAL 



tfiiltita&n 0f t|e ^ttatokrri; 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BEST VARIETIES. 

ALSO, NOTICES OP THE 

RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY, CURRANT, GOOSEBERRY, 
AND GRAPE; 

WITH DIRECTIONS FOR THEIR CULTIVATION, AND THE SELECTION OP 
THE BEST VARIETIES. 

" Every process here recommended has been proved, the plans of others tried, and the result ia here given." 

BY e: Gf PARDEE. 
^^ 

WITH A VALUABLE APPENDIX, 

CONTAINING THE OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF SOME OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL 

CULTfVATOBS OF THESE FRUITS IN OUR COUNTRY. 



NEW YORK: 

C. M. SAXTON, AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHER, 

No. 152 Fulton Street. 

18 5 4. 






- ' s\. > 



<9 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by 
C. M. SAXTON, 
the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District ol 
New York. 



fiP ?>^^ 



EDWARD 0. JENKIXS, 

PRINTER AND STEREOTYPES 
114 Nassau St. 






WirMDRAwijP^ 

Wsshington, 0. C. 



PAQB 

Preface 5 

The Strawberky 9 

Situation 13 

Selection of Soil 14 

Preparation of Soil 15 

Manures 16 

Transplanting (Time and Manner of) 19 

Mulching 23 

Watering 25 

Cultivation 26 

Renewal of Beds 2 ^ 

Winter Protection 29 

Sexuality 34 

Forcing 38 

Seedlings 43 

Classification 44 

Selection of Varieties 45 

McAvoy's Superior — Hovey's Seedling — Monroe Scarlet — 
Burr's New Pine — Longworth's Prolific — Walker's Seed- 
ling — McAvoy's Extra Red — Moyamensing Pine — Jenney's 
Seedling — Large Early Scarlet — Crimson Cone — Rival Hud- 
son—Genesee Seedling — Willey — Princess Alice Maude — 
Boston Pine — Black Prince — Lizzie Randolph— Swainstone 
Seedling — Richardson's Early — Richardson's Late, and 
Cambridge — Myatt's British Queen — Large White Bicton 
Pine — Barr's New White — Prolific Hautboy. 



IV CONTENTS. 

PAQE 

Analysis of the Strawberry Fruit and Plant 63 

Raspberry 66 

Fastolf — Franconi — Red and Yellow Antwerp — Knevett's 
Giant — Large-fruited Monthly — Ohio Ever-bearing. 

Blackberry 73 

White — Improved High Bush — New Rochelle. 

Currant 78 

Black Naples — White and Red Dutch — Cherry — May Victoria 
— Knight's Sweet Red — Largest White Provence. 

Gooseberry 82 

Crompton's Sheba Queen — Woodward's Whitesmith — Roaring 
Lion — Crown Bob — Houghton's Seedling. 

Grape 87 

Isabella— Catawba — Clinton. 

APPENDIX. 

Peabody on Ever-bearing Strawberries 93 

Peabody's Letter to R. G. Pardee 101 

Lawrence on Crescent Seedling 103 

Huntsman's Experiments 107 

Longworth's Letter to R. G. Pardee 109 

Longworth and Cincinnati Horticultural Society 112 

Report of Cincinnati Horticultural Society 116 

Report of Strawberry Market at Cincinnati 118 

Barry's Directions for Cultivation of Strawberry 119 

French's " *' " 128 

Mead's " " '' 130 

Fruit and Vegetable Garden , 138 



xtfixtt. 



This work has been prepared for the press, 
in the behef that it was wanted by the public. 

The author has, in a direct, plain manner, 
simply given his own experience. 

Every process here recommended has been 
proved ; the plans of others tried, and the re- 
sult is here given. 

Every variety of fruit here introduced — except 
the New Rochelle Blackberry and two or three 
small, unimportant fruits — has been planted, 
fertilized, watered, cultivated, and carefully 
watched daily for months, and in most cases, 
for years ; so that it is not mere theory, or se- 
cond-hand information from amateurs or gar- 
deners, however superior, that is here recorded. 



VI PREFACE. 

A large crop of strawberries may be expect- 
ed every year with as much certainty as a crop 
of corn, and in fact, more so ; for our directions 
embrace a protection from drought, which so 
frequently lessens the corn crop. 

It will be readily seen that the author has 
not followed the rules and order usually ob- 
served in treating upon these subjects ; but has 
aimed to say what he means, in a condensed, 
business-hke way, so that he may be under- 
stood by the mass of readers. 

It does not by any means follow, that every 
one who reads this book will at once raise the 
largest and most luscious strawberries and other 
choice fruits here named, in the greatest abun- 
dance. Few persons are thorough enough to 
do any thing well at first. 

Place a new recipe for making premium 
bread in the hands of six cooks, and it would 
be quite remarkable if half of them were so 
particular as to make good bread on the first 



PREFACE. vn 



trial. Some little thing which seems to the 
unskilled to be unimportant, may in fact be 
essential. 

It is pleasant to know that so many intelli- 
gent cultivators are now turning their attention 
to the production of these fine fruits, and we 
may reasonably expect much additional light 
will be thrown upon some points, which shall 
be included in subsequent editions of this 
work. 

The writer is happy to acknowledge his 
obligations to a large number of cultivators of 
these fruits during the last few years, for valu- 
able suggestions which he has become so 
familiar with in practice, that doubtless even 
their precise language has been sometimes un- 
consciously woven into the text of this work. 
If it were possible, he would be more specific 
in his acknowledgments, for it is pleasant to 
speak of such authors as A. J. Downing, John 
J. Thomas, P. Barry, C. M. Hovey, and latterly 



VIU PREFACE. 

F. R. Elliott, who has politely assented to o ur 
use of some of the accurate drawings of fruits 
from his new Fruit Book and Guide. 

Our Appendix embraces much valuable ori- 
ginal as well as selected matter, which will 
place before our readers the views of others, 
beside our own, and will enable them to exer- 
cise their own intelligent judgment, and lead to 
successful practice. 

The Author. 



THE STRAWBERRY. 



This is the most beautiful and delicious of all our 
earlj fruits, and so easily cultivated and so uniformly 
productive, that every housekeeper possessing a few 
rods of ground can have no excuse for not supplying 
his table with an abundance. 

Mr. A. J. Downing said truly, ''Ripe, blushing straw- 
berries eaten from the plant, or served with sugar and 
cream, are certainly Arcadian dainties with a true para- 
disiacal flavor, and, fortunately, they are so easily 
groAvn that the poorest owner of a few feet of ground 
may have them in abundance." 

In the language of Mr. P. Barry — " To grow large, 
handsome, fine-flavored fruit in abundance, it is not 
necessary to employ a chemist to furnish us with a 
long list of specifics, nor even to employ a gardener by 
profession who can boast of long years of experience. 
2 



10 THE STRAWBERRY. 

Any one who can manage a crop of corn or potatoes 
can, if lie will, grow strawberries." 

During many seasons we have had on trial in our 
garden from twenty to sixty varieties at a time, and 
although some were comparatively unproductive, yet 
the average cost of producing them for years has been 
less than fifty cents per bushel ; not including the cost 
of picking or expense of plants, which were taken from 
our own garden. Others can, and have done, the same. 
We can refer to amateurs, market-men, farmers, and 
nurserymen in Western New York, who have raised 
them at even a smaller cost, both on a large and small 
scale. On a plot of ground fifty by sixty feet, we have 
repeatedly gathered over fifteen bushels in a season, 
under all the disadvantage of many varieties. With a 
good selection of kinds, it is certain that one hundred 
and fifty bushels can easily be produced on an acre. We 
have on small beds grown at the rate of two hundred 
and fifty bushels to the acre, and we have abundant 
testimony that, on a larger plot, at the rate of two 
hundred bushels per acre has been gathered. It is 
almost as easy to raise extra-large, fine fruit, as it is 
small indifferent berries; and it is a decided object. 
Fruit of high flavor, measuring from three to four 
inches in circumference, will command fifty cents per 
quart in ISTew York or any other good market, as 
readily as small fruit will ten cents ; while the labor 



THE STRAWBERRY. 11 

of picking such large fruit is very small, and the pro- 
duct much larger. The demand for extraordinary 
fruit is everywhere increasing. 

Of the many varieties on our own grounds one sea- 
son, more than twenty different kinds, without special 
effort, produced specimens four inches in circumference, 
while the largest were six. There is a positive plea- 
sure in raising such fruit, and our aim in this work is 
to enable many persons to make that pleasure their 
own. The interest on this subject has so increased and 
become so well-nigh universal, that every village and 
neighborhood can call out a little company who will 
be glad to know how easily it can be done. 

Mr. Downing says, " The strawberry is perhaps the 
most wholesome of all fruits, being very easy of diges- 
tion, and never growing acid by fermentation, as most 
other fruits do. The oft-quoted instance of the great 
Linnaeus curing himself of the gout by partaking 
freely of strawberries — a proof of its great wholesome- 
ness — is a letter of credit which this tempting fruit has 
long enjoyed, for the consolation of those who are look- 
ing for a bitter concealed under every sweet." 

An unknown writer in the last Patent Office Report 
says, " The strawberry was described by Juan di Cuba 
in his ^Ortus Sanitatis^^ in 1485, in which its medical 
and other properties are treated at length." He also 
eloquently says : 



12 THE STRAWBERRY. 

" When we contemplate the relations which the 
strawberry plant bears to other parts of nature — to the 
sun which expands its blossom — to the winds which 
sow its seeds — ^to the brooks whose banks it embellish- 
es ; when we contemplate how it is preserved during 
a winter's cold capable of cleaving stones — hoAV it 
appears verdant in the spring, without any pains em- 
ployed to preserve it from frost and snow — ^how, feeble 
and trailing along the ground, it should be able to 
migrate from the deepest valleys to Alpine heights — 
to traverse the globe from north to south, from moun- 
tain to mountain, forming, on its passage over prairie 
and plain, a thousand mingled patches of checker- 
work of its fair flowers and scarlet or rose-colored 
fruit, with the plants of every clime — how it has been 
able to scatter itself from the mountains of Cash- 
mere to Archangel, from Kamschatka to Spain — how, 
in a word, we find it in equal abundance on the conti- 
nent of America, from the bleak fields of Tierra del 
Fuego to Oregon and Hudson's Bay, though myriads 
of animals are making incessant and universal havoc 
upon it, yet no gardener is necessary to sow it again — 
we are struck with wonder and admiration at so pre- 
cious a gift." 



SITUATION. 13 



SITUATION 



A warm, exposed, and jet rather moist location is 
the best for a strawberry plantation. 

If very early fruit be an object, select a side-hill 
gently sloping towards the south, with a liberal ad- 
mixture of small stones or coarse gravel in the soil. 
This should then be protected on the north, west, and 
east by a high closed board fence, or a live hedge ; Ave 
have seen an artificial hedge of withered evergreen 
boughs that answered an excellent purpose, and en- 
abled the owner to realize fifty cents per quart for the 
crop, when otherwise he could not have so much 
anticipated the usual season, and would have been 
compelled to take twelve and a half cents for the same 
quantity. 

J£ late fruit be desired, then select a piece of land 
facing the north, and exposed. Low land is usually 
preferable to high, hilly land for the strawberry, yet 
it can easily be raised on both ; a little knoAvledge of 
its character will enable us to remedy the defects of 
the high ground. If the situation is near a spring of 
water, where it can be irrigated, and is also susceptible 
of drainage, it is very desirable. 

Though they will sometimes succeed when partially 
shaded with trees or shrubbery, yet they are best 



14 SELECTION OF SOIL. 

flavored in an open garden, with no sliade but their 
leaves. Alpines, and some other kinds, planted in the 
northern shade of a fence or dwelling, will commence 
later and continue longer in their bearing season. 



SELECTION OF SOIL, 

New land, recently disrobed of its forests, if of a 
deep gravelly loam, we think is the test adapted to 
the strawberry, and next, a sandy loam ; but almost 
any soil, even the heaviest clay, can be prepared, by 
a liberal admixture of sand or gravel, so as to produce 
the finest fruit. 

As has been intimated, as low moist soil as can be 
procured, consistently with depth and thorough drain- 
age, is best adapted to the strawberry ; and yet ele- 
vated knolls, and even sand-hills, with the precautions 
above-named, have often succeeded well. 

Wet, spongy lands, except with a porous subsoil 
susceptible of drainage ; and high, barren hills, with a 
thin, flinty soil, are alike to be avoided. 

The strawberry, however, is so retentive of life, that 
it will live in almost any soil ; but it will not produce 
much fruit, unless the remedies are in some way ap- 
plied to the ungenial soils. 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 15 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 

Clear the ground . of weeds, roots, and seeds of all 
kinds in preparation for thorough drainage, which in 
most soils should be attended to the first thing. The 
best drains are the earthen tile drains, from two to four 
rods apart, which should be so constructed as to be 
left open at both ends for the circulation of the air, as 
well as the release of stagnant water. A brush or coarse 
stone drain is beneficial as d temporary expedient. 

After draining, break up the soil as deep as possible 
with a subsoil plough, or by trenching twenty inches 
or more deep. The strawberry is so sensitive to 
drought and stagnant water that very little of the best 
land in our country can be exempt from draining and 
trenching, if we would receive in return uniformly 
large crops of fruit in all seasons. 

Inasmuch as the fruit is composed of so large a pro- 
portion of potash, soda, and lime — sixty-two parts in 
every hundred, as will be seen by the tables in this 
work giving the analysis of the strawberry and plant 
— we recommend next, that an application to the acre 
be made of twenty to thirty bushels of unleached or 
leached ashes, ten to twelve bushels of lime — either 
stone or oystershell — with two to three bushels of salt, 
which should be thoroughly mixed with the soil, if 



16 MANURES. 

possible, some weeks before tlie plants are set out. A 
liberal handling of the soil, thoroughly pulverizing it, 
before proceeding to the work of transplanting, is good 
economy. 



MANURES. 

On this point we are aware we shall differ widely 
from some of our ablest horticulturists, to whom we 
confess our inferiority in most things in the great 
science of horticulture ; yet, in this we are confident 
that their own personal experiments, did their time 
permit, would lead them to the same results that we 
have deliberately arrived at. 

And first, we w^ould not use animal or barn-yard 
manures for the strawberry. "We have eschewed their 
use entirely for the last six years. If friends who 
have watched our beds for years, say the soil w^as pe- 
culiar, and is not a fair test, we answer, that may be, 
but we have arrived at this positive conclusion from 
our experiments and observation in other locations 
and soils, as well as in our own garden, and every step 
has only confirmed us in the opinion, that animal 
manures are too stimulating and exciting to the plant 
for the full bearing properties of the strawbeny. 

Fine fruit has Keen raised, we know, in fair quanti- 



MANURES. 17 

ties and of enormous size, in the use of animal ma- 
nures, yet we tliink the quantity and quality would 
have been decidedly increased by the use of vegetable 
instead of anunal manures. The latter causes the 
plant to run too much to vines, and start its runners 
before it has even perfected the earliest part of the 
first crop of fruit, besides filling the earth generally 
with seeds, and undecayed portions of the straw, and 
fibrous portions from the barn-yard, which come into 
injurious contact with the numerous fibrous roots of 
the plant in its progress in the earth, which should 
always be kept as pure for the strawberry as possible. 

Leaf-mould, decomposed turf or peat, well composted 
with new surface soil, or muck, ashes and lime, is a good 
manure for the strawberry. We wish it, however, 
distinctly understood, that few good'*SoiIs need enrich- 
ing at all for the strawberry ; on the contrary, most of 
the soils (for instance, those in "Western New York) 
would be more benefited by being depleted by an 
admixture of half river-sand. 

It will be seen from the interesting articles in our 
Appendix A, from C. F. Peabody, Esq., near Colmn- 
bus, Georgia, that his own observation and experience 
have led him to the same conclusions. Other cultiva- 
tors might also be named who have arrived at smiilar 
results. 

It is far better to feed the fruit properties instead of 



18 MANURES. 

the plant ; for we opine it will be found tliat tlie over- 
feeding of the strawberry is one of tlie most universal 
and destructive errors in its cultivation. 

Some use liquid manures, composed of cow and ben- 
droppings dissolved in a barrel of water ; but tliey are 
not well adapted to assist tbe fruit-bearing properties 
of the plant, but are good if the object be to send out 
runners and increase the plants. 

On the opening of spring — the latter part of April or 
the 1st May, in the latitude of the State of New York 
— it is well to give the plants an impetus, by liberally 
showering them every ten days or two weeks with a 
solution, in six gallons of water, of one quarter of a 
pound each of sulphate of potash, sulphate of soda, 
(Glauber salts,) and nitrate of soda, with one and a half 
ounces of sulphate of ammonia ; or, if these cannot be 
conveniently obtained, use the same quantity of potash, 
sal soda, Glauber salts, and sal or muriate of ammonia ; 
or a solution of either of them is beneficial if applied 
alone. 

"We have tried for many years various combinations 
in solution, but have been unable to obtain any so ^ 
valuable as the first named. 

We have always found plaster injurious to the straw- 
berry, and ashes beneficial, when judiciously applied. 



TRANSPLANTING. 19 



TRANSPLANTINa. 

This is a process to wliich tlie strawberry is sensitive. 
The plant will live under almost any treatment or any 
manner or time of transplanting, but will not always 
yield a full supply of good fruit unless tMs process is 
appropriately performed. First we speak as to time. 

For large plantations, or for ordinary cultivators, 
the spring is perhaps the best season ; certainly it is 
the time when it can be the easiest and most success- 
fully accomplished. The ground is soft and moist at 
that time, and the weather is usually favorable. 

The next season generally recommended is the 
month of September. Plants can then be easily ob- 
tained, ajid after the cool, moist fall weather has com- 
menced, the ground works easily, and there is not 
much difficulty in making them live. There is one 
danger, however, to be especially guarded against in 
fall transplanting ; that is, the plants may not get so 
firmly rooted as to be enabled to withstand successfully 
the severe frosts of winter. A liberal covering of 
straw will assist in remedying this matter. An advan- 
tage gained over spring transplanting will be, the earth 
will not be as liable to pack so very hard around the 
plants in the fall, as under the hot summer's sun and 
rains, and the plants will not be so likely to be checked 



20 MANNER OF TRANSPLANTING. 

in their growth as in the droughts which often occur 
in June and July or August. 

We have transplanted strawberry plants successfully 
for years, every month, from March until the 20th of 
October, without dif&culty. With mulching, shade, 
and water, judiciously applied, it can be Y\^ell done at 
any time. For our ordinary planting, we prefer the 
1st of July for several reasons. The ground, if tho- 
roughly prepared then, will not be subject to become 
so hard packed. The weeds will not be so trouble- 
some. If the plants get well started, and are not 
checked in their growth, they Avill produce very nearly 
a full crop of fruit the following spring. We have 
found that these advantages will amply repay the little 
extra care in mulching, shading, and Avatering. Ten 
or fifteen days' later planting Avill seriously lessen the 
first crop, according to our observation. In spring 
planting, March will answer south of Philadelphia, and 
last of April and first of May for the north. 

MANNER OF TRANSPLANTING. 

The hest way undoubtedly is, to take the first runners 
as soon as fairly set, and remove them with a trans- 
planting-trowel, with the roots and earth undisturbed. 
This cannot be conveniently done, except the plants 
are in the same garden with the new bed. Neither 



MANNER OF TRANSPLANTING. 21 

have we ever found the first runners more productive 
than the subsequent ones, unless they are stronger. 

In most cases, plants come from a distance, and 
great care should be taken to get as large a proportion 
of the numerous fibrous roots as possible ; and in 
order to this, the ground should always be well 
saturated with water, either artificially or otherwise, 
before the plants are taken up, and then the first 
thing to be done, is to mud the roots, by dipping 
them in a little mud-hole made in the garden soil, 
where the water has been poured and stirred, until it 
has become sufficiently thickened with the soil to 
leave a good coating of mud on the roots of the plants 
as they are Avithdrawn. This greatly protects the 
plants on a short or a longer transportation. 

For transplanting, the earth should be levelled and 
made as flat as possible. If raised into beds or hills, 
it will invite the drought, to which the strawberry 
plant has a decided aversion. The plants should then 
be set out, leaving the roots in as nearly their natural 
spreading condition as possible ; with the fingers press 
the pure earth compactly around the body of the 
plant, being careful not to set the plant too deep. If 
there is any old bark or decayed portion of the leaves 
on the plant, remove it before setting out : an old plant 
will usually renew itself by sending out a new set of 
roots on being transplanted, and it should be remem- 



22 DISTANCE IN TRANSPLANTING. 

bered that the strawberry plant, while it places its 
roots, mainly, near the surface of the ground, yet a 
portion of its larger roots penetrate favorable soils to 
the depth of from two to four feet, and even a greater 
depth in some cases. 

DISTANCE IN TRANSPLANTING. 

The Alpines and smaller varieties should always be 
eight inches apart, while the larger varieties should 
be allowed twelve to eighteen inches. Put one plant 
in a place, and let no other remain nearer than the 
above distances, and it is not material to success in 
cultivation whether you plant in rows, beds, or hills, 
if you do not hill them up. We often set out in rows, 
two feet apart, and leave the plants one foot from each 
other in the rows ; or, a method by which we have 
enjoyed great success in producing the finest fruit, has 
been to prepare a plot of ground, and cover it with 
strong plants one yard apart, and stimulate these, by a 
liberal application of liquid manures or soap-suds from 
the wash, to send out runners, which will soon supply 
the intermediate ground with plants of nature's own 
planting, which is a little better done than any one 
else can do it; care should, however, be taken to 
spread the runners so that the above distance of from 
eight to twelve inches can be preserved. 



MULCHING. 28 

For field culture^ set two plants in a place, one foot 
from the next, in rows three feet apart, so as to leave 
room for a horse-cultivator to pass between the rows, 
care being requisite not to approach nearer than eight 
inches to the plants, when at work among them. 
This whole process of field culture is the same in its 
general principles with that in the garden ; except, for 
the convenience of a horse-cultivator to pass between 
them, the rows should one way be planted the same 
distance apart as corn ; then the same treatment as to 
clean cultivation, and even water and mulching, as far 
as convenient, is desirable. 

On the selection of a field for strawberries, it is 
very important to choose one free from all kinds of 
seeds and roots not decomposed. 



MULCHINa. 

This consists in covering the surface of the ground 
with something that is not injurious to the plant, to 
protect it from the intense heat of the sun or extreme 
cold. From one to four inches in depth is the usual 
custom; the latter depth for pear, peach, and other 
fruit trees. 

For the strawberry, we prefer, as soon as the plants 



24 MULCHING. 

are set, at whatever season of the year, to cover the 
entire surfe,ce of the ground, including the walks, with 
tan bark, new or old, to the depth of one inch, care 
being taken that it is left very thin — only a slight 
coating — immediately around the crown of the plant. 
We have pursued this plan, and have never known a 
plant iajured by it ; on the contrary, they have been 
decidedly benefited. When using saw-dust, we have 
sometimes been a little troubled with mildew, but 
never with tan bark applied as above. Some of our 
most intelligent horticulturists say it is a specific 
manure for the strawberry, which others deny; we 
find it, at least, the best thing brought to our notice as 
a mulch. It is excellent to retain moisture and kee23 
the earth in fine condition under it ; very few weeds 
will ordinarily trouble us, where the tan is one inch in 
thickness, and altogether it is excellent. Where tan 
cannot be obtained, saw-dust will do, if not apjDlied 
too thick. Leaf-mould is very good, if the soil is not 
already too rich. Straw is good, but green rowen 
or fresh-cut grass, if the seeds are not rijoe, is better 
still ; any thing, in fact, not injurious, that is con- 
venient and adapted, can be used. 



WATER. 25 



WATER. 

The strawberry lias a great relish for good, clear, 
cold water. We have often seen them take a strong 
shower-bath at midday, in the face of the hottest sun 
in July, Avithout shrinking. A slight sprinkle, just to 
lay the dust, does not satisfy them, but a thorough 
soaking is what they delight in — say a pailful of 
water to every six or eight plants, or every four feet 
square of earth. If you say "this calls for a great 
deal of hard work," we answer then, "do not repeat 
it so often, but do it thoroughly whenever attempted." 
A few weeks since, we sent a friend some plants of 
new and rare kinds. A drought prevailed, and we 
feared he would neglect them, so we called to see 
them, and found he had set out and sprinkled them in 
the lightest, most delicate manner possible. Another 
friend to whom we gave a few plants at the same dry 
time, gave them a thorough and repeated drenching, 
and saved all his plants. 

A garden engine is very convenient in a strawberry 
plot, for watering purposes, or a stream of water so 
situated as to irrigate, is better still. A water-ram, and 
water brought up in pipes, will accomplish the same 
thing. Ordinarily, during the bearing season, sufficient 



26 CULTIVATION. 

rain falls, so that very little watering is needed : some 
seasons are so wet that no water is needed until 
the bearing season is over, and then the plants do 
not particularly require it; but a drought will soon 
compel the strawberry to cease bearing in ordinary 
soils. The remedy or preventive is water, water, 
every day, and sometimes every night and morning. 
The evening, just at sundown, is the best time to 
water plants ; and in some cases it is desirable that the 
water should have been exposed to the sun and air 
before being applied, but we do not think this is 
necessary for the strawberry. 



CULTIVATION. 

Most persons bestow, erroneously, most of their 
labor in raising strawberries on their cultivation. On 
the contrary, if our directions so far are strictly fol- 
lowed, the work is mostly done, except gathering the 
fruit. We have very little work to do in the way of 
cultivation after planting, except watering and occa- 
sional pulling of weeds which appear through the tan, 
and neither of these ordinarily requires much time or 
labor. They must be kept clean and in good order, 
but we are very careful not to allow the hoe to be used 
nearer than eight inches to any full-grown plant, and, 



CULTIVATION. 27 

consequently, it is seldom or never used about the beds 
after the first month's planting. The reason is, the 
numerous fibrous roots so interlace and fill the ground 
for a space of six or eight inches around the plant," 
coming so completely to the surface, that the use of 
the hoe will cut off great numbers of these little roots, 
and we are unwilling to have our plants maimed in 
this way. It certainly greatly injures their bearing. 
The fork or spade should be kept at the same distance, 
for the same reason. The only time, during the year, 
we loosen the soil in our beds with the fork, is imme- 
diately at the close of the season of bearing, selecting 
the time when the ground is moist. And yet, we repeat, 
the strawberries must be kept clean ; and the reader 
may here see a reason for all the minute and particular 
description we have given in the preparation. It 
needs to be thoroughly done, because it cannot well 
be remedied afterwards. The plants will not admit of 
freely working among them, except with the hand, if 
not kept at an unusual distance from each other, with- 
out largely reducing the crop of fruit. If our object 
is large and abundant fruit, the roots must not be 
disturbed. 

One qualification to the above : When new plants 
are set, unless prevented by mulching immediately, 
we, as often as every three days or week, for a month 
or so, hoe or rake the ground freely, and always stir 



28 



RENEWAL OF BEDS. 



the soil as close to the plants, as often, and as much 
as possible, only being cautious not to disturb the 
roots. 



RENEWAL OF BEDS. 

This should be done once in three or four years, 
and the same ground should be planted with corn or po- 
tatoes for one season, and receive an application of lime, 
ashes, and salt, as advised in the article on the prepa- 
ration of the ground, before it is again used for straw- 
berries. The bed might be made to bear well, by a 
careful renewal of the old plants by their runners, for 
ten or a dozen years, but this would require rather 
more skill in cultivation than most persons possess. 

Every year or two, if a strong runner has struck 
itself beside an old plant, we pull up the old plant 
instead of the runner, and are constantly thus renew- 
ing them. We always leave the best plants. The 
field cultivator has only to clean off the weeds, and 
prepare the soil in the spaces of three feet between the 
rows ; allow the rimners to cover that ground ; then 
drive the cultivator or plough through, turning under 
the old row of plants ; thin out his new ones to proper 
distances, and his system of renewal is complete. 



WINTER PROTECTION. 29 



WINTER PROTECTION. 

Our experience is in favor of a slight winter pro- 
tection. It costs comparatively no time or expense, on 
the approach of severe winter weather, to hastily scat- 
ter a thin coat of straw or old leaves over the plants ; 
and they come out in so much better condition in the 
spring, and even the hardiest kinds bear so much bet- 
ter crops for it, that we never neglect it. Like mulch- 
ing, almost any thing free from weeds, that will not 
smother them or mildew, will answer the purpose, but 
clean straw is preferable, except they need the decay- 
ing leaves. 

Some years ago, we had an aged neighbor, who 
stood almost unrivalled in the cultivation of the straw- 
berry. One season he set out, on the first of July, 
about one-fourth of an acre of fine Hovey's Seedlings. 
He almost constantly and carefully worked among 
them with the hoe, the rake, and water-pot, and I 
never saw a plot of so fine strawberry -plants as these 
had become on the approach of winter. 

The old man Avas "very much set in his way," and 
among the things his creed discarded, was mulching 
strawberries; so, against my repeated remonstrances, 
he left them for the winter without mulching, with his 



80 EVER-BEARING STRAWBERRIES. 

usual preparation, which consisted in placing a half- 
inch deep of good earth around each plant, in a circuit, 
to the width of six or eight inches, leaving the surface 
scolloped inwards towards the centre of the plant. 
The winter proved a severe one, and the old man was 
saddened in the spring, to find his fine plants drawn 
out of the ground to the length of three and four 
inches, and laid flat on the earth. One-tenth part of 
the labor he bestowed in hilling his plants for winter, 
appropriated to covering them with a little loose straw, 
would have saved them all. 



EVER-BEABINa STRAWBERRIES. 

The Bush Alpines have always borne a succession 
of crops during the season, when planted in the north- 
ern shade of a fence, and well taken care of, watered, 
mulched, &c. 

Some three or four years ago, the New- Orleans Pica- 
yune announced that Mr. Henry Lawrence, a gentle- 
man of that city, had succeded in obtaining a seedling, 
called the ^^ Crescent Seedling ^''^ which bore an abund- 
ance of large fruit for a continuous period of six or 
eight months or more, from March to December. We 
wrote to Mr. Lawrence, and his answer confirmed all 
the paper had stated ; and he sent us in succession four 



EVER-BEARING STRAWBERRIES. 31 

or five different importations of plants of the Crescent 
Seedling, by the steamer and otherwise, until at last 
we succeeded in causing them to grow, and awaited 
their bearing season, when, alas! they only bore a 
moderate crop, and ceased bearing as early as any other 
variety in our ground ; thus proving a failure, as far 
as perpetual bearing was concerned, under our ordina- 
ry mode of cultivation. The plant has extraordinary 
vigor, a rampant staminate, exceeding all varieties we 
have ever seen in multiplying its runners. The ex- 
periment convinced us that it was not the variety, so 
much as the cultivation and soil, which gave it its con- 
tinual bearing properties. Some experiments since 
made with this variety, in soils so reduced as to be 
little else than coarse sand, favor this idea. Mr. Law- 
rence wrote me at the first, that he reduced his soil by 
three-fourths of pure river-sand ; and, although I re- 
duced my garden-soil considerably, yet it remained 
still very much too rich for the Crescent Seedling to 
develop its perpetual properties. The various experi- 
ments, however, were by no means lost. An account 
from Mr. Lawrence's pen will be found in our article 
B, in the Appendix. 

About this time, it was announced by the press that 
Charles A. Peabody, Esq., the horticultural editor of 
the Soil of the South, near Columbus, Georgia, had suc- 
ceeded, by reducing the soil, and with plenty of water, 



32 EVER-BEARING STRAWBERRIES. 

in making two well-known northern varieties — the 
Large Earlj Scarlet, and Hovey's Seedling — develop 
perpetual bearing qualities under the hot summer's sun 
in Georgia, furnishing fruit in quantities, from March 
till January. It was but reasonable to conclude, if 
this was the case in Georgia and JSTew-Orleans, much 
easier could we hope, by the same means, to extend 
our strawberry season north, during the months of 
July, August, into September. In October last, in an 
interview with Mr. Peabody, he gave it as his delibe- 
rate opinion that, by the process he detailed and pur- 
sued, we could easily have an abundance of fruit from 
our strawberry vines until frost came. We take plea- 
sure in inserting Mr. Peabody's plan and directions in 
full, in his interesting articles, in the Appendix, A. 

On the 20th December last, Mr. Peabody took up a 
few plants in fruit from his garden, and placed them, 
with the soil attached, in a basket, and sent them by 
express to Messrs. J. M. Thorburn & Co., 13 John 
street, New York. On their arrival, on Christmas day, 
they were well loaded with large, ripe Hoveys and 
Early Scarlets — unmistakably so — together with a 
large variety of green fruit, of all sizes, from that of a 
pea upwards to full-grown berries. They remained on 
exhibition in their windows some two weeks, when 
they were politely handed to us, and we had them 
potted in a green-house, with soil composed mostly of 



EVER-BEARING STRAWBERRIES. 33 

sand. The plants all grew finely ; in March they came 
into blossom, and in May into ripe fruit. The foliage 
was very small, but healthy. They continued in blos- 
som and bearing during the months of May, June, and 
July, without sending out a single runner, and some of 
the plants at the present time (the 14th of August) are 
in blossom, and have not started a runner. On one of 
the pots which .had no runners started, we placed a 
very little rich soil, and in a week the plant threw up 
vigorous runners, caused by the slight addition to the 
richness of the soil. 

The inference we draw from all this is, that no 
variety is ever-bearing under our usual manner of 
treatment, but that most kinds can be so trained, that, 
with a soil reduced largely enough mth sand, and only 
vegetable manures applied, and a plenty of water, and 
mulching when needed, they will continue to produce 
fruit until the approach of frost. The whole tend- 
ency of our experiments in strawberries is in this direc- 
tion. Professor Page has, in Washington City, it is 
stated, induced the Alice Maude to adopt the ever- 
bearing habit. 

Amateurs and others will do well to try the experi- 
ment on a small scale, until they perfectly succeed ; 
and then the large price of a dollar or more per quart, 
which the markets of New- York, Boston, and Philadel- 
phia will pay for such fruits in August, will amply 
3 



84 . SEXUAL CHAKACTER. 

repay for the production on a large scale. Learn well, 
by observation, all the habits and tendencies of the 
strawberry in this regard, and we think the thing can 
then be easily accomplished. 



SEXUAL CHARACTER. 

We now come to the great battle-ground of the 
giants, but will not enter the lists, if we may be per- 
mitted to quietly state a few things as our opinion, 
without intending to reflect upon, or having even re- 
mote reference to, any persons. It is very easy to see 
the manner in which some have been led into error, 
viz., the mixture, well-nigh universal, of different 
kinds of strawberries — an error productive of untold 
injury to successful cultivation. We have never 
seen two kinds of strawberry that might safely run 
in the same bed. On no account suffer it. The 
poorest kind will multiply its runners the most ra- 
pidly, and drive the well-bearing plants from the 
bed; particularly is this the case, where that j)oor 
kind is a staminate. We think the direction given 
by the late Mr. Downing and others, to place the 
staminates on each end of the same bed, with the 
pistillates in the centre, an unfortunate one, for the 
beds and the plants are usually very soon destroyed in 



SEXUAL CHAKACTER. 35 

that way. We are very particular to place our stami- 
nates a greater distance from tlie pistillates : if 30 feet 
to 60 feet off, it is better. The bees and wind carry 
the pollen, and opposite sides of the garden, if the dis- 
tance is 100 feet, will, we think, be found near enough 
to answer the same purpose. Neither would we allow 
pistillates, such as Hovey's Seedling and Burr's New 
Pine, to run together, but be very particular to keep 
each kind distinct and apart. We think it is Mr. 
Longworth who has stated, that if we place a single 
staminate plant, like the Large Early Scarlet, in the 
centre of a productive bed of a pure pistillate variety, 
in less than two or three years, that one plant will 
drive every good fruit-bearing plant out of the bed. 

This is one reason why so many strawberry beds 
fail after the first bearing season ; so we repeat in the 
strongest manner, get ;pure plants — difficult, we know 
— and on no account permit any two hinds to run to- 
gether ; place boards on edge between them, or in some 
way protect them from each other. 

After this episode on a very practical point, we may 
be permitted to say, there are strawberry plants we 
call staminate, because they exhibit to the eye very 
distinct stamens. Our plate will illustrate this. 
Another kind we call pistillate, because the naked 
eye can discover developed in the blossom only the 
pistils. Most of our intelligent horticulturists assure 



86 SEXUAL CHARACTER. 

US, that the best staminates will only produce a part 
of a fair crop of fruit, while the pistillate varieties 
will produce no perfect fruit at all, without being 
impregnated by some staminates in the vicinity ; but 
when thus impregnated, the pistillates produce an 
abundance of the finest fruit. 

The interesting and accurate experiment of Mr. 
Huntsman, in the Appendix, C, sets this matter in a 
very clear light. 

Some of the staminates of recent introduction, like 
Walker's Seedling and Longworth's Prolific, are so 
very desirable, that every cultivator should have one 
or both ; it is, therefore, only important to notice the 
presence of the staminates in every collection of va- 
rieties, keep them distinct, and no sacrifice is required 
to conform to this theory, which seems to be pretty 
universally established. Mr. Longworth's article in 
the Appendix, D, gives an interesting account of its 
discovery. 

Another series of plants are called Hermaphrodite — 
like Longworth's Prolific — ^because both stamens and 
pistils are in a greater or less extent developed, and 
they are represented to bear well, being alone. 

The great war that has raged so fiercely on the bor- 
ders of the strawberry kingdom during the past year 
or two, has been on the point, whether staminates ever 
change to pistillates, or vice versa. For many years 



SEXUAL CHARACTER. 37 

we have noticed, with scrupulous care, these distinct 
characteristics of the various strawberries when in 
blossom, and we have never seen the first symptoms of 




Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig 8. 

Fig. 1. A perfect flower furnished with stamens and pistils, a, the stamens. &. 
the pistils, hermaphrodite. 
Fig. 2. A Btaminato or male flower. 
Fig. 8. A pistillate or female flower. 



P 







Fig. 4. 
Fig. 4. A perfect flower, with a stamen and pistil detached, a, the anther. 
b, the filament p, the pietiL 

change in any variety. We do not know that a 
change in open-air cultivation is now much contended 
for from any quarter. We think the mixing of plants 
causes staminate and pistillate blossoms to be seen to- 
gether. In forcing, we are told, by high authority, that 
some plants, like the melon, &c., change their sexual 
character, and why not the strawberry ? We do not 
know that this point, that the strawberry does so, has 
yet been fully established. 



88 FORCING. 

The English varieties are mostly staminates, and 
bear fruit of extraordinary size and flavor ; but we 
think not in so large quantities as some of our pistil- 
lates. Certainly all the English staminates prove 
comparatively only second-rate in our soil and cli- 
mate. 



FORCINa. 

On this point our experience is very limited, hav- 
ing been confined to small experiments during the 
past winter : we therefore give the best information we 
have been able to obtain, from the highest English 
authorities. 

In the London Gardener's Chronicle^ edited in the 
Horticultural Department by Professor Lindley, we 
find the following directions from that most eminent 
horticulturist, Mr. Paxton : 

" Select for this purpose, in the middle of August, 
a sufficient number of the best runners from approved 
kinds to have choice from, and plant them six inches 
apart, in beds, upon a strong border in a dry and shel- 
tered situation. As soon as the leaves have withered, 
mulch them lightly with well-rotted manure, and if 
very severe weather occur, protect them for the time 
with fern or litter. They must be kept the following 



FORCING. 39 

spring free from weeds and runners, removing also 
any flowers as tliey appear. Towards the latter end 
of May or beginning of June, whenever dull or rainy 
weather may occur, remove them carefully into forty- 
eight-sized pots. It is optional with the grower, 
whether one, two, or three plants are put in one pot, 
according to his object being quality or quantity ; but 
we, desiring fine fruit in preference to number, only 
place one of the strongest or two of the weaker in one 
pot, using enriched melon soil or turfy loam. Place 
them, when potted, in a -situation where they can be 
readily shaded for a short tune, and receive regular 
supplies of water if necessary. About the latter end 
of July, or early in August, these pots will be filled 
mth roots, when the plants must be repotted into flat 
thirty -two-sized pots, usually termed strawberry pots, 
and at this time plunged in old tan or coal ashes. The 
best manner of plunging them we find to be, forming 
beds wide enough to contain five rows of pots, when 
plunged, upon a hard or gravelly surface, to prevent 
them rooting through, the sides supported by slabs of 
the same width as the depth of the pots, and filling 
them up with old tan or ashes ; the plants remain here 
until wanted to take in, and are easily protected from 
severe frosts. It will be found an excellent plan to 
preserve the latest forced plants, which are not much 
exhausted, for forcing the first the next season ; these. 



40 FOKCING. 

from their long period of rest, and well-ripened buds, 
are predisposed to break earlier and stronger than the 
others ; some of them, if the autumn is moist, will be 
excited, and produce flowers, which must be imme- 
diately pinched out ; they should have their balls 
carefully reduced, and be repotted in larger pots early 
in August, protecting them from the late autumnal 
rains, and from frost." 

" For succession," Mr. Paxton says, " strong runners 
are taken up in September, and planted about six 
inches apart, in manured and well-prepared beds, four 
feet wide, in a somewhat sheltered situation ; there 
they are allowed to remain until the following July, 
during which period they must be kept very clean 
from weeds, have the flowers and runners regularly 
pinched off, and be watered whenever likely to suffer 
from drought. About the middle of July they are 
potted in small thirty -two-sized pots, two plants in a 
pot, taking the greatest care that neither roots nor 
leaves are damaged in the operation, and an important 
part of it is to press the earth firmly about them ; the 
soil used is two parts loam to one of well-rotted dung. 
Beds which will hold five or six rows of pots are then 
formed in the following manner : Level the surface of 
the ground, and spread upon it a layer of coal ashes ; 
above which must be nailed firmly slabs, or any rough 
boards, as wide as the depth of the pots, which are 



FORCING. 41 

then to be plunged to the rim in spent bark or ashes. 
All that they will here require is attention to watering 
when necessary, and a slight protection with fern, or 
other light covering, during severe frosty weather. I 
always preserve from 300 to 400 of the latest forced 
plants of the above description, and after having care- 
fully reduced their balls, repot them in large thirty- 
two-sized pots in July, treating them afterwards pre- 
cisely as the others. I find these, by having their buds 
formed early, (through the slight forcing they have 
received,) and becoming very strong, are admirably 
adapted for the first crop, and always repay me for the 
extra trouble. Begin forcing with a temperature of 
40°, increasing to 50° when in bloom, and to 55° 
when ripening." 

" Mr. Brown, gardener to Lord Southampton, at 
Whittlebury Lodge, near Towcester, says, that Mr. 
Paxton's method of preparing strawberry plants for 
forcing is a good one where time and trouble are of 
no consequence : but for the last fifteen years he has 
adopted a plan which answers well, and by which 
good strong plants are procured in one month from 
the present year's runners. 

" The compost used is good strong loam, well mixed 
with rotten dung from the hot-bed linings ; twenty- 
four-sized pots are the best for Keene's Seedlings, and 
thirty-twos for Grrove End Scarlets. The latter variety 



42 FORCING. 

answers for early forcing better than any other sort, 
when strawberries are wanted by the end of March. 

" Having filled the pots with the compost, they are 
removed at once to the strawberry quarters, and ar- 
ranged on each side of the rows, amongst the runners. 
The middle of July, when the plants are emitting roots, 
is the proper time to begin the operation of layering : 
having previously prepared a quantity of pegs, the 
runners that are rooted into the ground are carefully 
removed, and their roots inserted in the pots, and 
pegged down. Put three plants into the twenty-four 
pots, and one in the thirty-twos; they immediately 
begin growing, being supported by the mother plant, 
and will only require occasional watering in dry 
weather. 

"When the plants are well rooted, which is in 
about one month, detach them from the old plants, 
and remove to their winter-quarters. 

" Beds are prepared for them with a bottom of coal 
ashes, and they are plunged in old tan ; each bed sur- 
rounded with a stratum of coal ashes six inches wide, 
and as high as the top of the pots, which prevents 
worms from working amongst them." 



il 



SEEDLINGS. 43 



SEEDLINaS. 

Since the introduction of Hovey's Seedling, this 
department of strawberry culture has had new life and 
vigor infused into it, and has resulted in affording 
high gratification to those engaged in it, and proved 
of decided benefit to our country. 

This fruit is so soon and so easily raised from seed, 
that the process invites to a very attractive series of 
experiments. Almost any one can experiment in a 
small way ; and the person who shall produce a straw- 
berry of the size of Hovey's Seedling, or of the size and 
productiveness of M'Avoy's Extra Eed, combined 
with the exquisite flavor of Burr's New Pine, will be 
a benefactor. 

Perhaps the easiest way is to select the largest ripe 
berries of the best class of pistillates, raised in close 
proximity to one of the best staminates, and crush 
them in a bed of pure sand, mix them, and let the seeds 
dry and ripen for two weeks or a month ; then sow 
them in light soil, in a partially shaded spot in the 
garden, carefully water, and in winter protect them 
with a covering of straw ; in spring transplant them, 
one plant in a place two feet apart ; carefully remove 
all runners until the plants have borne ; select the best 



44 CLASSIFICATION. 

for farther trial, and throw the rest away. A better 
way, if convenient, is to sow the seeds and sand in a 
cold frame, provided in a northern exposure, and 
transplant as above directed. 



CLASSIFICATION. 

Mr. Elliott says, "Authors have classed the straw- 
berry as ScAKLETS, the original tjrpe bemg our wild 
strawberry ; Pines originating from Pine or Surinam 
strawberry ; Woods and Alpines from the common 
wood strawberry of Europe ; Hautbois, or High-wood^ 
from Bohemia ; Chili, from South America. 

" The ScAKLETS are designated in their character by 
small flowers ; long, thin, light-green, sharply serrate 
leaves ; acid or sub-acid fruit, of bright scarlet color, 
with seeds deeply imbedded." The Large Early Scar- 
let, Methven, Duke of Kent, and others, are of this 
class, and yet the flowers of the first two are rather 
large. 

" The Pines are designated by large flowers ; broad, 
dark-green leaves ; fruit of pineapple flavor, and gene- 
rally soft in texture ; seeds slightly imbedded." IIo- 
vey's. Black Prince, Burr's New Pine, British Queen, 
&c., are of this class, and yet Hovey's and New Pine 
have quite small flowers : the two others are large. 



SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 45 

"The Alpines and Woods have small flowers, per- 
fect in their organs ; small, thin, light-green leaves ; fruit 
small, sweet, and separating freely from the calyx. 

" The Hautbois have large, pale-green leaves, on tall 
foot-stalks, the fruit-stalk tall and erect, the fruit of a 
dull red or purplish color. 

" The Chili, designated by hairy, thick, obtusely 
serrate leaves, fruit pale-red and insipid. 

" The Green Strawberries have light-green foliage, 
plaited fruit, solid flesh, so unworthy cultivation as 
rarely to be found in this country. 

" We have dropped the arrangement into classes in 
order." 

The above classification is a distinct one, but we do 
not think quite correct, neither can we find or make 
one that is distinct and correct. 



SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 

This is a point of no small difficult}^ One person 
wishes only the finest-flavored varieties for his own 
table, of which Burr's New Pine and Swainstone's 
Seedling are the head ; another wishes all the showy 
and fancy varieties, such as the Bicton Pine, Black 
Prince, Alice Maude, &c. ; another, still, cultivates for 
market, and wants large, bright-colored, solid-fleshed, 



46 CULTIVATION OF VARIETIES. 

productive fruit, like McAvoy's Extra Eed, Moya- 
mensing Pine, and Walker's Seedling. Again, tlie 
manner of the cultivation of some persons will con- 
form to some varieties, and be opposed to others, per- 
haps superior ; or some soils and climates are naturally 
adapted to some varieties, and unadapted to others, so 
that the custom we have adopted in years past, we 
would recommend to those going into the cultivation 
of the strawberry, viz. : Obtain a plant or two of 
several of the best varieties named, and cultivate them 
experimentally for two or three years, and then select 
the most successful ones and discard the others. 
Another difficulty arises from the new developniients 
constantly making, which tends to exalt a neglected 
variety in some sections of our country, and depress a 
favorite one in other parts, so that we shall, it is pro- 
bable, in future editions take the liberty of amending 
or changing our opinions respecting some of the differ- 
ent varieties named, as time and enlarged experience 
shall demand. 

Another point of delicacy still arises, from the fact 
that many of oui' friends have produced seedlings of 
which they think and speak in the highest terms ; but 
from what little we have seen of them, and their trial 
being mainly in the hands of the originators, we do 
not feel authorized to speak of them pro or con. 

Some varieties we do not name will doubtless prove 



CULTIVATION OF VARIETIES. 47 

altogether superior to some we do speak of, and we 
would not intimate that some of the varieties we are 
not acquainted with may not prove of the first class. 

We shall speak mainly and freely our own experi- 
ence and observations of the peculiarities of the differ- 
ent kinds as manifested during the last ten or twelve 
years or less, and in a plain, distinct manner, give our 
present views of them, not being confined to or having 
much reference to the usual condensed pomological de- 
scriptions or classifications, which we think are not so 
important to the popular mind, and we are not writing 
a work to instruct botanists or learned pomologists. 

The first six varieties named and described would, 
all things considered, be our first choice in a selection 
confined to that number. The next twelve will follow 
very nearly, not entirely, in their regular order as our 
next choice, reference being had to the particular de- 
scriptions for the prominent characteristics of each, as 
fitted for the amateur, the family, or the market-man. 

m'avoy's supeeior, 
The new $100 prize seedling of the Cincinnati 
Horticultural Society in 1851. It was originated in 
that city by Mr. D. McAvoy, in 1848, on loamy clay 
soil underlaid with limestone, and was called out 
by the offer of a premium of $100 by that Society, at 
the instance of that energetic horticulturist, Nicholas 



48 



SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 



Longwortli, Esq., for a pistillate strawberry wliich 
should prove, on a four years' trial, to surpass all other 
known varieties in size, flavor, and productiveness. 



m'avoy's superior 




Fig. 1. Fig. 2. 

The committee concluding that this fulfilled the condi- 
tions, reported in its favor, and the report was adopted 
by the Society. In September, 1851, we obtained two 
plants, and in so far as our observation of it has ex- 
tended in our own and several other gardens, in different 
portions of our country, it is superior, in the average 
size and productiveness, to any other variety we have 
seen ; and while it is good, and when properly ripened 
of high flavor and delicious, yet we do not think it 
equals, much less surpasses. Burr's New Pine in flavor. 
It is pistillate, hardy, vigorous, dark serrated leaf, long 



SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 49 

foot-Stalks, trusses of fruit full and usually well formed, 
but occasionally a berry not entirely filled out ; the 
runners are not so numerous as to be troublesome; 
fruit very large, often over five inches in circumference, 
rich dark color until, over - ripe ; irregular, conical, 
roundish ; large seeds, slightly sunk ; flesh crimson and 
white, tender, juicy, with a core of rather open and 
coarse texture. 

Eipens medium season, and rather too tender for a 
market fruit, except for short carriage distance. 

HOVEY' SEEDLING. 

This has been truly called a noble fruit, and is an 
honor to the originator, Mr. C. M. Hovey, of Boston. 
It has undoubtedly taken more prizes in the various 
Horticultural Exhibitions of our country, from Maine 
to Louisiana, than any other variety, and it retains the 
same position at the present time, although it is not 
equal in flavor to Burr's New Pine and others, or of 
the average size of McAvoy's Superior and some other 
varieties ; and in almost every quarter, we hear more 
or less complaints of its fickleness in bearing, mingled 
with the strongest approvals of its productiveness. 

Notwithstanding all murmurs, its flavor is good 
when well ripened ; it is too often picked and tasted 
when first colored and unripe ; and some of its berries 
so surpass all other varieties in size — often five and 
six and sometimes over eight inches in circumference — 



50 SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 

as to carry along the judges at our exhibitions ; and the 
size under good cultivation always proves satisfactory. 

We have, in times past, been embarrassed by its 
failure in bearing, but we are inclined to think it was 
in a great measure owing to onr want of knowledge of 
its habits, and consequently erroneous cultivation. It 
requires a great deal of water, or moist soil, and will 
not bear so rich soil as Boston Pine and many other 
kinds ; and the simple reduction of the soil to the com- 
mon grade has sometimes changed the barren into pro- 
ductive plants. It originated in 1834. The vines are 
vigorous, leaves large in rich soil, rather light green, 
and fruit-stalks are of good length. Fruit is very large, 
roundish-oval, conical ; color, rich scarlet ; seeds slightly 
imbedded ; firm flesh ; well adapted for market, and of 
medium season ; flowers pistillate. 

As will be seen in Appendix, A, Mr. Peabody, of 
Columbus, Geo., has succeeded in making this variety 
ever-bearing. 

MONROE SCARLET. 

This variety has not been so extensively known or 
so largely tested as Hovey's Seedling and Burr's 
New Pine. It originated in Kochester by those enter- 
prising nurserymen, Messrs. Elwanger k Barry, and 
was first exhibited by them at the June meeting of the 
"Horticultural Society of the Valley of the Grenesee," 
we think in 1850, where we first saw it, and took a 
plant home with us. 



SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 



51 



We introduce it in this connection, because we 
think it will prove remarkably productive. Such has 
been the case in our trials of it ; it has uniformly sur- 
passed all others in bearing. We have counted over 
seventy ripe berries of good size, the largest measuring 
four and three-fourths inches in circumference, on a 
single plant less than one year old. We are aware 
that the Alpines, and some other kinds, will produce 
many more berries in a single hill, but they are very 
small fruit, and we presume they will not produce 
near the quantity on a single plant of that age. It is 
a hybrid of Hovey's Seedling and the Duke of Kent. 
The plant is very vigorous: pistillate; fruit large, 
roundish, short neck, and beautiful, of good fair 
flavor, hard flesh, a long bearer, and good for market ; 
does well partially shaded. 



buer's new pine. 

This variety originated in Colum- 
bus, Ohio, in 1846, on a clay soil, 
and is remarkable for its agreeable, 
delicious, aromatic flavor, surpassing 
all other varieties; and also for its r\ 
early bearing and uniform pro- fj^ uy 
ductiveness. It is usually of large V^ 
medium size, although we have seen 
on exhibition large dishes of fruit b^r's new pinb. 




52 SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 

measuring nearly four inches in circumference, and 
have measured single specimens from our own garden 
full four and a quarter inches, and when thus well 
grown, and on exhibition, it will bear off the first 
prize from Hovej's Seedling, and all other varieties ; 
yet it is, under ordinary cultivation, nearer the size of 
three inches in circumference. It is a great favorite 
of families of exquisite taste, either for the hand or for 
the table, and we have proved it to be the earliest of 
sixty varieties in the same garden to ripen its fruit, 
and one of the latest to cease bearing ; and occasional 
plants have produced a small second crop in the 
autumn, while standing without watering in the open 
garden. The fruit is large, round, conical and even; 
color, pale red ; seeds very slightly sunk ; flesh, whit- 
ish-pink, sweet, and too tender for a market fruit; 
quite productive, and berries perfect; the foliage is 
large, and the plant is vigorous and hardy. It is 
indispensable for private gardens. Pistillate. 



The two remaining plants of the first six are stami- 
nate, or hermaphrodite. This variety originated in 
Cincinnati at the same time with McAvoy's Superior. 
Mr. Longworth furnished the seed for both plants to 
two cultivators, McAvoy and Schnecke, the former of 
whom produced the Superior, and the latter this 




SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 63 

variety, which at first was call " Schnecke's Herma- 
phrodite," but afterwards named by the Cincinnati 
Horticultural Society, "Longworth's Prolific," in 
honor of Nicholas Longworth 
Esq. It is a great favorite with 
the gentleman whose name it 
bears, who says "it will do 
what no other variety in this 
country or Europe has ever 
done — bear a full crop of good 
fruit standing alone." In a 
note to Mr. Barry in the fall of longwoeth's peolipic. 
1853, he says, "You will find the Prolific of more 
value than all the seedlings ever raised." Mr. Elliott, 
in his Guide, says, "For market culture we regard 
it of more value than McAvoy's Superior ;" and we 
have heard Dr. Warder bear the same high testimony 
to its excellence. 

It has been almost impossible to get the genuine 
variety. In our attempts, we have had repeated 
failures, until, at last, Mr. D. McAvoy politely took 
up for us two plants, while in bearing, and enclosed 
them in a letter. The plants lived, and we have been 
enabled to experiment with them intelligently. We 
have also seen the genuine in a few other gardens, 
hundreds of miles apart, during the last two seasons ; 
and everywhere we have seen it, if it had a fair 



54 SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 

chance, it has done well. Many will, doubtless, "dis- 
card "Longworth's Prolific," who have only tried 
spurious kinds. 

Our limited experience will not enable us to speak 
so decidedly as some of those we have quoted, yet we 
can say we are much pleased with it, and hope it will 
equal the high expectations excited ; so far, it seems to 
excel any hermaphrodite of our acquaintance in size 
and productiveness, and is of good flavor. The 
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society had it on exhibi- 
tion from the garden of Caleb Cope, Esq., in 1853, and 
speak of it as *'very large, roundish obovate, brilliant 
crimson ; seed of the same color, sometimes yellowish, 
set in rather deep indentations, with rounded intervals ; 
flesh red, flavor fine, quality 'very good,' a variety of 
great excellence, perfect in its sexual organization, 
and remarkably productive, a rare circumstance with 
staminate varieties of large size." The plant is very 
vigorous and hardy ; large broad leaf, long foot-stalks, 
setting the fruit well up in large full trusses, product- 
ive and sure bearer; ripens at the medium season, 
and only loses its fine color when over-ripe. We 
have seen the fruit from four to five inches in circum- 
ference. 



SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 55 

walker's SEEDLING. 

The last of the six we name above is also one of the 
new berries, not so extensively proved as yet. The Hon. 
Samuel Walker, ex-President of the Massachusetts 
Horticultural Society, originated and sent it out some 
two or three years ago, when he politely sent us a 
dozen plants for trial, which trial has been very satis- 
factory. The Society above-named has during the last 
season renewed its endorsement of it, and Mr. Barry, 
of Eochester, also approves it there. It is entirely 
distinct from all other kinds. In form it resembles the 
Large Early Scarlet, or more nearly the Crimson Cone, 
but rather larger than either ; in color it is as dark 
crimson or purple as the Black Prince. A vigorous, 
hardy, good staminate, of excellent flavor, "best" 
quality, and productive ; of medium season. 

m'avoy's extra red. 

This is another of the new Ohio strawberries, ori- 
ginated by Mr. Longworth in his garden, or by his 
tenant and gardener, Mr. D. McAvoy, at the same 
time with the Superior, which variety it appears in 
in every respect to equal, except in flavor. The 
Fruit Committee in Cincinnati report it as " large, beau- 
tiful, and very prolific; quality medium, not high- 
flavored." It has an agreeable, sub-acid flavor, some- 
where near the grade of Hovey's Seedling. We think 



56 SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 

it mil prove a valuable market fruit : it is very vigor- 
ous and hardy ; fruit large and handsome, and keeps 
well. "We have seen it exhibited for forty-eight hours, 
after twenty miles' land carriage, when it remained the 
brightest and most showy fruit of forty choice varieties. 
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 1853 pro- 
nounced it "extraordinarily productive," and quality 
" good." It is pistillate, and its only fault, as far as we 
are aware, is the lack of high flavor, which we do not 
consider indispensable for a market fruit. 

MOYAMENSING PINE. 

It bore off the premium offered by the Pennsylvania 
Horticultural Society in 1848, for the best seedling 
strawberry exhibited that year, and is described as 
follows : " Fruit rather large ; roundish conical ; deep 
crimson ; seeds crimson, set in rather deep depressions, 
with rounded intervals ; flesh red ; flavor very fine ; 
quality 'best;' pistillate leaf, large, with crenate ser- 
ratures." We should not place the quality as high as 
"best," although it is good. In New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania it has the best reputation as a fine mar- 
ket fruit, and our experience confirms it. In fact, we 
are inclined to think that this variety and McAvoy's 
Extra Ked may prove our best market kinds, and, as 
such, a great acquisition. That point, however, is not 
vet established. 



SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 



57 



jenney's seedling. 
This originated in New Bedford, 
about the year 1845 : is of good size, 
high flavor; and has been highly 
recommended by the Massachusetts 
and other Horticultural Societies. 
We have successfully cultivated it 
for four or five years, and think its 
advantages are, its good fair size, 
bright handsome color and form, 
sprightly rich flavor, lateness of season in bearing, and 
sound flesh, fitting it for a first-rate market fruit, or for 
preserving ; its defects are, its not being the largest 
size and only a medium bearer. The plant is vigorous, 
and blossoms pistillate. 




jenniy's seedling. 



large early scarlet. 

This has long been the standard staminate. It 
bears almost everywhere a tolerable crop with fair 
treatment. It is early, and, as we see from Mr. Pea- 
body's article in the Appendix, under his treatment 
has become a perpetual bearer. It is of medium size, 
handsome oval form, good — rather acid — flavor, and 
bears carriage to market tolerably well. 

Its good qualities are its uniform, although not large 
] )roductiveness, early season and good flavor ; its de- 
4 



58 SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 

fects, its want of size and of large productiveness, and 
its tendency to throw out an overgrowth of runners. 
It is valuable as an impregnator. 

CRIMSON CONE. 

A very bright, handsome, brisk, acid fruit, of me- 
dium size, uniformly conical, rich dark crimson, and 
quite productive. Its seeds lie deeply embedded, 
giving the surface a beautiful rasp-like appearance. Its 
defects are, its second-rate size and acid flavor. It was 
always a favorite of Mr. Downing's, who preferred its 
acid flavor for the table, bringing it to its proper tone 
by a liberal addition of sugar. 

It has supplied the New York market with more 
fruit the past season, we think, than all other varieties 
combined. 

The plant is very vigorous — blossoms pistillate. 

RIVAL HUDSON. 

A very productive market fruit, of only medium 
size, and rather acid flavor : popular near Eochester, 
although we think it is, or ought to be, superseded. 
Pistillate. 

GENESEE SEEDLING. 

A large and very handsome fruit. It originated with 
Messrs. Elwanger & Barry. The plant is vigorous, 



SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 59 

with long stout foot-stalks, productive for a staminate, 
and of good medium flavor. 

WILLEY. 

This is an extraordinary bearer of round, medium- 
sized fruit of pleasant, sprightly, although not high 
flavor. This and Monroe Scarlet are the only straw- 
berries I have ever seen that bear apparently in clus- 
ters. It is not unusual for the Willey to produce 
sixty and seventy berries on a plant, and should never 
be cultivated in masses. It is solid enough for market, 
and its main defect is its size, and second-rate flavor. 

PRINCESS ALICE MAUDE. 

A handsome, long, oval, English fruit, of large size, 
fair productiveness, and medium flavor. It is unique 
in appearance, very early, and in the vicinity of 
Washington City it has become very popular, Profes- 
sor Page having succeeded in inducing it to adopt the 
ever-bearing habit. Its main defects are want of large 
productiveness and high flavor. Staminate, and good 
for market. 

BOSTON PINE. 

A good staminate seedling of Mr. Hovey, of Boston, 
and for our own cultivation we should give - it a very 
early place in our lists ; but with the mass of cultiva- 



60 SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 

tors it is not so popular. It wants the best clean cul- 
tivation, with every plant two feet apart from all others, 
and will bear richer soil than almost any other variety ; 
with such treatment it will produce a good crop of 
uniformly large, round, handsome fruit of high flavor. 



BLACK PRINCE. 

A large, handsome, very dark crimson or blackish- 
purple fruit, of English parentage and pistillate flowers. 
The plants are vigorous and hardy, quite productive, 
usually too watery and insipid in flavor, but some- 
times we have found it to be of the richest flavor. A 
few plants are worthy of a place in most private 
gardens. 

LIZZIE RANDOLPH. 

A very large showy fruit, quite productive, but of 
such inferior flavor as to discourage its dissemination. 
It is pistillate, and originated in Philadelphia. 

SWAINSTONE SEEDLING. 

An English staminate of the highest flavor and 
great beauty, but unfortunately so fickle in its bearing 
habits as to drive it from all but the amateurs' and a 
few of the best nurserymen's gardens. 



selection of varieties. 61 

Richardson's early. 
A medium-sized staminate, of medium flavor and 
fair bearing habits, but there are better ones. 

Richardson's late, and Cambridge. 

Two pistillates. The first of good size and flavor, 
and both tolerably productive. The Cambridge very 
much resembles Eichardson's Early. 

MYATT's BRITISH QUEEN. 

A splendid English variety of the largest size and 
richest flavor, but unfortunately, in this country, so few 
of the blossoms ordinarily produce fruit, that it is in 
most places despaired o£ Staminate. 

LARGE WHITE BICTON PINE. 

A new English staminate variety, of large hand- 
some fruit, long oval shape, sometimes flattened, of 
the highest flavor, white color, with a bright blush 
cheek on one side. It is quite a novelty, and proves 
to be more productive than was expected. It will find 
a place in most amateurs' gardens in limited quantities. 

BARR's NEW WHITE 

Is said to be superior to the above, but we have not 

\ 



62 SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 

yet tried it. In Boston it is spoken well of. A friend 
assures us it is superior to the Bicton Pine. 

PROLIFIC HAUTBOY. 

Prolific certainly of runners, so as greatly to injure 
its value, if it had no other defect ; is a very vigorous 
plant, producing long, oval, purplish, dingy berries of 
a rich but very peculiar flavor, agreeable to some, but 
the reverse to others. It is staminate, but hardly 
desirable. 

We might continue this list, and enumerate full 
one hundred other varieties which we have had an 
opportunity of personally testing; but we cannot 
name any variety possessing any superior quality, not 
possessed in an equal or larger degree by some of the 
best of those we have named ; in fact, quite a number 
of the varieties we have noticed are not equal to many 
other varieties we might name, of our own seedlings 
and others ; and we have only referred to them because 
they are popular in many parts of the country, and 
supposed there to be a first-class fruit. 

Many of our horticultural friends and nurserymen 
may be disappointed that we have not referred more 
extensively to their favorites ; in answer we say, we 
we do not suppose them superior to some of those 
described. If they are, they will soon be extensively 



ANALYSIS. 63 

proved and noticed. Others, wo do not personally 
know any thing about, which are not merely recom- 
mended by individual originators, but Horticultural 
Societies of the highest authority; for instance, the 
new seedling " Pennsylvania," of Philadelphia, and 
Scott's Seedling, &c., of Boston. A seedling that will 
surpass McAvoy's Superior in average size, product- 
iveness, and good flavor, or Hovey's Seedling in size 
and beauty, or Burr's New Pine in flavor, product- 
iveness, and early fruit, and Longworth's Prolific in 
size, beauty, productiveness and flavor as an herma- 
phrodite, has got to be an extraordinary fine berry, 
but there is hope that it may be obtained. 

The following analysis of the strawberry plant 
(vines) was made by Mr. Bilius, Kirtland, Ohio. 

In 116 grains of the ashes of the Garden Straw- 
berry he found 

Potash 33.154 

Lime 26.519 

Carbonic Acid 23.008 

Magnesia » , 8.908 

Phosphoric Acid. , 6.970 

Silica . . , 6.117 

Charcoal and Sand 3.103 

Soda 2.794 

Perphosphate of Iron 1.516 

Sulphuric Acid 1.4G9 



64 ANALYSIS. 

Chlorine 718 

Organic Matter and Loss 1.739 

116.000 

In tlie Annual Eeport of the Progress of Cliemistry 
and allied Sciences for 1847 and 1848, we find tlie 
following analysis of tlie Strawberry by Thomas 
Richardson : 

THE PLANT. 

Potash 38.65 

Lime 12.20 

Silica 2.58 

Perphosphate of Iron 8.65 

Magnesia 5.85 

Phosphoric Acid 15.58 

Chlorine 1.23 

Soda 9.27 

Organic Matter, Loss, &c 5.99 

39 per cent, of Ash. 100.00 

THE FRUIT. 

Potash 21.07 

Lime , . , 14.20 

Soda 27.01 

Silica , . . 12.05 

Perphosphate Iron 11.15 

Phosphoric Acid , 8.59 

Sulphuric Acid 3.15 

Chlorine 2.78 

Magnesia Trace 

41 per cent, of Ash. 100.00 



ANALYSIS. 65 

The great variation in these analyses is probably principally 
owing to the greater age of the vines in one case than the other : 
perhaps something is due to soil and climate also. — Ed. 



4* 



THE PiASPBEREY. 



When well grown, and of the best varieties, this is 
one of our most wholesome and excellent fruits. It 
deserves a far more general and better cultivation 
than is usually given to it ; and its free use, succeed- 
ing the strawberry, as it does, would doubtless conduce 
to the general health of the community. 

If grown without care, it is often small, hard, and 
with little good flavor ; but when highly cultivated, 
it is large, melting, and delicious. It will repay the 
best care, and to very few fruits is this so indispensable 
as to the raspberry. 

A rather moist, cool location, on the north slope of 
a side-hill, or shade of a fence, is to be chosen ; and 
the soil should be deep and rich. A deep loam 
is preferable, but other soils can be made to answer 
the purpose ; it should be well broken up, trenched 
and pulverized to the depth of two feet, then enriched 
with well-rotted manure, vegetable, if convenient. 

The plants should be shortened ten or twelve inches 
at the top, and set out very early in the spring, at a 

(66) 



WINTEK PROTECTION. 67 

distance of three to four feet apart, not too deep, in 
pure earth, with a good proportion of the roots lying 
near the surface. Keep them clean, and well staked, 
with not more than three or four canes in a hill. On 
gathering of the fruit, cut out all the old canes but 
those of the present and the last year's growth, and 
leave not more than eight or ten of those in a hill to 
ripen for another season of bearing, one half of which 
should be transplanted in the following spring. 

On the first of September pinch back the most 
vigorous shoots, so as to check the flow of sap and 
ripen the wood. 



WINTER PROTECTION. 

The question of winter protection is a difficult and 
important one. The ordinary custom is to leave them 
exposed in the garden to the severity of winter, and 
as a consequence, the Fastolf, Franconia, and True 
Antwerps, are rendered almost worthless. Even in 
Kentucky, those choice varieties require winter pro- 
tection. The easiest way is to bend the canes down 
and cover them slightly with earth. Some tie them up 
in a withe of straw, or evergreen boughs, but these 
are not always sufficient. 

We have sometimes taken up the plants in the fall, 



68 THE RASPBERRY. 

and buried them in sand, and on the earliest opening 
of spring set them out with care, and in this way have 
raised extraordinary crops ; but we have not proved 
this last process so fully as to incur the responsibility 
of recommending it. It would require to be very care- 
fully done, so as to preserve all the fibrous roots, to- 
gether with the advantage of favorable soil, for it to 
succeed so well. 

The raspberry is used in a variety of ways, viz., for 
the hand, the table, pies, tarts, jelly, jam, ices, syrups, 
brandy, wine, and vinegar. 

The profits of production are very large ; often, in 
the vicinity of Kew York, selling for from $500 to 
$600 per acre. 

They will continue in bearing some five or six 
years, but will not be in perfection, ordinarily, until 
the third year after planting. 

We will name but a few established varieties. Dr. 
Brinckle, of Philadelphia, and some others, have gained 
much credit with their fine seedlings, but hoAV exten- 
sively they have been proved, or if any of them 
surpass the Fastolf^ Franconia^ Antwerp^ <fec., we arc 
unable to say. The ^^ Colonel Wilder'''' and some other 
seedlings are said to be perfectly hardy ; and if that is 
the case, and they prove equal in other respects, they 
will certainly be a decided acquisition. 



VARIETIES. 



69 



FASTOLF. 

This fine 
variety ori- 
gin a t e d a/t 
Fastolf Castle^ 
near Y a r- 
moutli, Eng., 
where it at- 
tained a high 
reputation, 
which it has 
nobly sus- 
tained in this 
country. 

It is not 
quite so hard 
for market 
fruit as the 
Antwerp, but 

it is rather soft, and of rich high flavor, and the fruit 
is very large, of a bright purplish-red, and is a large 
bearer. It requires winter protection. 




THE FASTOLF. 



FRANCONI. 



This fine variety was said to be originally from 
France, but a few knowing ones insist that its advent 



70 



THE RASPBEKRY. 



was nearer home. However that may be, it is a 
valuable kind, the most hardy of the large varieties 
which we refer to ; produces most abundant crops of 
fine fruit, which bears carriage to market well. It is 
some ten days later than the Antwerps, and requires 
only slight protection. The fruit resembles the Fastolf, 
but rather more acid flavor ; canes strong and branch- 
ing, and leaves rather narrow. 



RED ANTWERP. 

This variety has long 
been the standard sort, 
both in this country and 
Europe, and is a very 
fine fruit. So many 
spurious sorts are now 
sold under this name, 
that it is difiicult to ob- 
tain the genuine, in 
many places. The Com- 
mon Red Antwerp is 
smaller and round ; while the true is large, regularly 
long conical, dull red, with a rich sweet flavor. 

The canes are of good strength when well culti- 
vated, and the fruit ripens early in July. 
It also requires winter protection. 




BED ANTWERP. 



VARIETIES. 



71 



YELLOW ANTWERP. 

Much resembles the Ked Antwerp except in color, 
and is a very handsome and excellent fruit. Whether 
Dr. Brinckle's new seedlings, Colonel Wilder, and 
Orange, will supersede it or not, as Mr. Elliott sug- 
gests, we are unable to say. 



knevett's giant. 

We have some- 
times thought this 
variety a better 
bearer than the 
Red Antwerp^ 
but we do not 
know as it has 
any superiority 
other than being fV,. - 
more hardy. i-^t*^' 

This, however, knevett's giant. 

bears a much larger crop, in consequence of winter 
protection. 

large-fruited monthly. 

This is a new variety, that we have had in bearing in 
our garden some years, and have often gathered a mo- 
derate amount of fruit from it in September and Octo- 




72 THE RASPBERRY. 

ber as well as in the early summer. With good culti- 
vation and thorough pruning, it produces full crops of 
fruit of the character, but not equal to, the Antwerps* 

OHIO EVER-BEARING. 

A variety of the American Black, which has for 
years borne us several crops during the season, of 
large, good fruit, ripening its last crop amidst the 
snows and frosts of IN'ovember. 



THE BLACKBERRY. 



For the most part, the production of this fruit has 
heretofore been mostly confined to the woods and new 
lands of our country. In our former residence, Pal- 
myra, Western New York, from time immemorial, 
almost, the market-Avomen have made their appearance 
every two or three days during the season, with wagon- 
loads of from fifteen to thirty bushels of blackberries, 
which they sold at the prices of three, four, to five 
cents per quart. The fruit was often small, hard, and 
unripe, similar to much that is usually sold in the New 
York markets. Some of this fruit is larger and finer 
than others, and for many years persons have been 
trjdng to cultivate and improve upon the best speci- 
mens of field blackberries. Our agricultural friends in 
Massachusetts — particularly Capt. Lovett, of Beverly 
— have been among the most enterprising and success- 
ful in this direction. The '''•Improved High Bush Black- 
berry''^ of Capt. Lovett's has often been noticed vvdth 
marked favor by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society^ 
as being a long, egg-shaped, shining, black, juicy, and 



74 THE BLACKBERRY. 

ricli fruit, Vvdth specimens often an incli and a half 
long. We have several times imported this variety 
from New England, but never succeeded in making it 
grow, so that our attempts to prove it have failed. 
Neither have we been enabled to learn whether it suc- 
ceeds in the hands of ordinary cultivators. Kumor 
says, all these improved kinds from Massachusetts 
have a tendency to deteriorate under continued culti- 
vation. We hope this is not the case, but we have 
tried in vain to ascertain the facts. 

The White Blackberry grows wild in Western New 
York, but is usually small, and of no great vojue, save 
as a novelty. 

The blackberry rejoices in a moist, loamy soil, mo- 
derately rich, and will bear well a little shade, or a 
northern exposure. It grows very readily after being 
once established ; but we have always found it one of 
the most difficult plants to make live in transplanting, 
and we hear the same difficulty complained of from all 
quarters. It should therefore be well taken up, with 
great care, preserving as many of the fibrous roots as 
possible, and set out in a favorable time, and in the 
best manner, mulching and watering the plants well 
the first season. 

There is only one variety that we know enough 
about to strongly recommend for cultivation, and that 
is the "New Eochelle, or Lawton Blackberry." 



THE BLACKBERRY. 75 

The public are much indebted to Mr. William Law- 
ton, an old resident of New Kochelle, for its active intro- 
duction and dissemination, during the last two or three 
years. In the last Patent Office Eeport, just out, we 
find the following statement from him in regard to it. 
He says: " For several years a new variety has been 
cultivated in small quantities in this town, which, for 
the want of a better name, I beg leave to introduce 
into notice as the ^New Rochelle Blackberry.' I have 
not been able to ascertain Avho first discovered the 
plant, and brought it into garden culture, but am in- 
formed that it was found on the road-side, and from 
thence introduced into the neighboring gardens." He 
further adds : " The ^New Rochelle Blackberry' sends 
up annually large and vigorous upright shoots, with 
lateral branches, all of which, under common cultiva- 
tion, will be crowded with fine fruit, a portion of them 
ripening daily, in moist seasons, for six weeks. They 
are perfectly hardy, always thrifty and productive, and 
I have not found them liable to blight, or injury by 
insects. Except that they are perfectly hardy, and need 
no protection in winter, the cultivation may be the same 
as the Antwerp raspberry ; but to produce berries of 
the largest size, they should have a heavy, damp soil, 
and shade." ' 

The American Agriculturist of the 2d August last, 
says, when speaking of Messrs. Seymour's plantation 



76 THE BLACKBERRY. 

of this same variety of fruit, in Norwalk, Ct.: "They 
have fruited this variety for seven years, and we think 
its value may now be considered so far settled, as to 
allow an expression of opinion upon its merits. It is 
much larger, more uniform in size, and more prolific 
than other varieties ; it has less seeds, a good flavor, 
and is a good keeper. It is also thought to be better 
adapted to poor soils. On this point we cannot speak 
as positively from our own observation. One thing 
seems certain, that it has not depreciated by cultivation 
during eight or ten years. 

"As to size, it will surprise most persons who see it 
for the first time. At Norwalk we saw several stalks 
bearing five to eight quarts each. We tried some that 
had been gathered over forty hours, and found the 
flavor quite good. A quart of them numbered 111 
berries. We picked a quart from vines which had 
received no manure for two years past, and from which 
the largest had just been selected for the ISTew Haven 
Horticultural Society, and found that 72 of them filled 
a quart measure. 

"The vines grow quite large, many of them over 
an inch in diameter, and the fruit hangs in thick clus- 
ters, in size more like large plums than like the ordi- 
nary blackberry. The flavor is not apparently dimin- 
ished by its large size, and the few seeds is not its least 
recommendation. We think this berry a valuable 



THE BLACKBERRY. 77 

acquisition to our domestic fruits, and worthy of a 
place in every garden. 

"In transplanting it, Messrs. Seymour & Co. recom- 
mend selecting plants from two to three feet high, and 
to set them out about the first of November or the 
middle of April, in this latitude. They may be put 
out on almost any ordinary soil, at a distance of four 
to six feet. When setting out, it is desirable to cut off 
the vine at from four to six inches from the ground. 
For field culture, they recommend preparing the 
ground by ploughing in an ordinary coating of barn- 
yard manure. Two or three experiments with guano^ 
dug in around the hill, have been quite successful." 

The only plants in bearing of this^variety we have 
ever seen, are those cultivated by Mr. Lawton in his 
garden ; and our observation of them tended to con- 
firm all that we have quoted from him and from the 
Agriculturist. For vigorous plants, size, flavor, and 
productiveness of fruit, they altogethe]' surpassed our 
expectations, and we hope they will soon find their way 
into every good garden. 

Some growers near this city have readily contracted 
their whole crop of this fruit in New York this season, 
for 371 cents per quart. 

We have given a large space to this variety, because 
it is new, and, we believe, well worthy of extended 
cultivation by the jniblic. 



THE CURRANT. 



This is one of the most valuable of all our small 
fruits. It can be used to such advantage in a variety 
of ways, whether in a green or ripe state, and it is so 
easily grown, that it is indispensable in every small 
garden. 

It is a native of Great Britain, and therefore per- 
fectly hardy. " In a green state it is used in pies, tarts, 
&c., stewed like gooseberries. When ripe, it is much 
used as a table fruit, with plenty of sugar ; but it is al- 
most universally used in a jelly that is both delicious 
and wholesome. It also makes an excellent wine, at a 
cost of not more than two or three shillings a gallon. 
The Black Currant is chiefly used in a jam or jelly. 
Currants ripen in midsummer, and if protected from 
the sun, will remain on the bushes until October. 

Tliis fruit is very easily cultivated, and it will grow 
and bear in almost any fair soil or treatment. The 
usual way is to allow the suckers to spring up around 
the original plant, until it has become a matted clump 
of bushes, but this is a bad practice every way. The 

(78) 



THE CURRANT. 79 

suckers uniformly produce poor and small fruit, and 
should never be permitted to grow. 

The best way of propagating the currant, is to cut 
off in the early spring, before the buds swell, the 
growth of the last year, close to the old wood ; make 
the cuttings one foot long ; remove all the eyes except 
some three or four at the top of the cutting, to prevent 
suckers ; then place it compactly in good sandy soil to 
half its depth, or six inches, and by good care in one 
year it will be sufficiently established for transplant- 
ing. In new, rare varieties, it can be more rapidly 
increased by layering, where the first branches have 
been allowed to grow near the surface of the earth. It 
should always be cultivated in the form of small bush 
trees, and by a skilful hand can be easily made to 
assume a handsome pyramidal or espalier form. All 
superfluous wood should be carefully pruned out 
every winter, and the plant invigorated with rich 
manure in the spring. The currant and gooseberry 
can hardly be over-fed. Each bush should be re- 
newed every six or eight years, as young vigorous 
plants of most fruits produce the largest and best spe- 
cimens. It will bear very well partially shaded by 
trees or shrubbery. 



80 VARIETIES. 



VARIETIES. 



The largest and best of all Black Currants, of excel- 
lent flavor, and bears large clusters of fruit, often five- 
eiglitlis of an incli in diameter. It is also productive. 
The Black English is quite inferior. 



A little larger, more productive, and milder flavor 
than the Common Currant; and the Red and White 
Grape are hardly distinct enough to give them an im- 
portant preference. The white are of mildest flavor. 
These are excellent varieties to cultivate. 



The largest of all red currants; quite acid; short 
clusters ; moderate bearer ; color, dark-red ; strong 
grower ; thick, dark-green foliage ; new, from Italy. 



Or Houghton Castle; large and very long bunches; 
late, and rather acid ; moderate bearer ; plant vigorous. 



varieties. 81 

knight's sweet red, 
Chiefly valuable for its mild pleasant flavor, similar 
in quality to the White Dutch, and productive. 



The largest White Currant, often full five-eighths of 
an inch in diameter; short bunch.es, and quite acid; 
a good bearer; quite attractive; new, from France. 
We are pleased with it in our own garden. 



THE GOOSEBERPiY. 



No fruit is easier of propagation than tlie gooseberry, 
and it should find its place in every garden. 

It should be protected from suckers, like the currant, 
and like that, it loves a deep, rich, moist soil : it can 
scarcely be too much enriched. The north side of an 
open fence or hedge will do well for it, but it should 
not be placed under the shade of trees ; open ground 
is far better. It should be so carefully and thoroughly 
pruned as to admit the air and light freely, and it is 
well to train it up into little upright bushes or small 
trees. 

The English varieties are much subject to mildew in 
this country. Mr. William Newcomb, of Pittstown, 
ISr. Y., a very successful horticulturist, wrote me that 
he always in the spring placed three inches of hog- 
manure under every bush, and raised the best English 
varieties in that way- in the greatest abundance and 
perfection, without its being affected in the least by the 
mildew. 

Mr. D. Haines, near Elizabethtown, 'N. J., informs 

(82) 



THE GOOSEBERRY. 83 

me that he cultivates Woodward's Whitesmith most 
successfally by removing a few inches of the surface- 
earth, every spring, under every bush, and filling the 
space with salt hay, which he covers with the earth ; 
thus affording protection from drought, and perfectly ex- 
empting the fruit from mildew. Others find a remedy 
in sprinkling ashes on the bushes when the dew is on. 
The ashes also benefit the plant. Any good mulch of 
tan-bark, sawdust, &c., of three inches deep, would 
answer nearly the same purpose as salt hay. Sprinkling 
the bushes in the spring freely with soap-suds also has 
a good effect on their growth, and often protects them 
from mildew. The bushes should be transplanted in 
April or late in October or November, and pruned 
back and set at a distance of about three feet, like the 
currant. If any large fruit is wanted, the fruit must 
be thinned out. The Encyclopctidia of Gardening says 
of the famous growers in Lancashire, England, who 
produce the largest fruit in the world : "To effect this 
increased size, every stimulant is applied that their 
ingenuity can suggest ; they not only annually manure 
the soil richly, but also surround the plants with 
trenches of manure for the extremities of the roots to 
strike into, and form around the stem of each plant a 
basin, to be mulched, or manured, or watered, as may 
be necessary. 

" They also practise what they term sucMing their 



84: THE GOOSEBERRY. 

prize fruit. By preparing a very rich soil, and by wa- 
tering, and by the use of liquid manure, shading and 
thinning, tlie large fruit of the prize cultivator is pro- 
duced. Not content with watering at root and over the 
top, the Lancashire connoisseur, when he is growing for 
exhibition, places a small saucer of water under each 
gooseberry, only three or four of which he leaves on a 
tree ; this he technically calls suckling." 

The gooseberry tree needs to be kept constantly in 
a vigorous condition, and then it will produce an 
abundance of good fruit. 

It should be propagated from cuttings of the wood 
of the 231'esent year, j)repared and set out early in Sep- 
tember, and transplanted in October of next year, or 
very early in the following spring; and should be 
pruned in June and November, and renewed every 
five or six years. 

The fruit is well adapted for pies and tarts when in 
a green state, and the best varieties when well grown 
and ripe are very excellent and acceptable for the 
table or hand. Says Mr. Downing: ''As a luxury for 
the poor, Mr. Loudon considers this the most valuable 
of all fruits, since it can be grown in less space, in 
more unfavorable circumstances, and brought sooner 
into bearing than any other." 

Books and catalogues are filled with the longest lists 



VARIETIES. 85 

of names of different kinds of tlie gooseberry, but 
after experimenting with many of them for years, 
and observing them under various circumstances, we 
are prepared to narrow our list down to a very few 
kinds, — as we have studied to do with the other fruits, 
— which we think combine the size, flavor, and pro- 
ductiveness of all^ at least for ordinary cultivation. 

crompton's sheba queen. 
This is the largest and best flavored of all the Eng- 
lish varieties we have seen. Our attention was at- 
tracted to it some years since by the favorable reports 
and first premium of the Albany Horticultural Society, 
through the accurate chairman of its Fruit Committee, 
Dr. Herman L. Wendell, who says of it, '' This is de- 
cidedly the richest and most delicious, as well as one 
of the most bsautifiil berries we have. It is larger in 
size than any of the others ; obovate form ; white, clear 
color ; very pleasant, rich, and luscious in its flavor, 
and erect in its growth. It requires a deep, rich, and 
well-drained, as well as cool soil." In other locations 
it sustains the same high character there given of it, 
and ^YQ have found it decidedly the best in our own 
garden. 

^voodward's whitesmith. 
This is another large, beautiful, and excellent Eng- 



m THE GOOSEBERRY. 

lish variety — very productive, and is usually over one 
inch in length. The color is white, and tree of erect 
habit. 

Roaring Lion and Crown Boh are also large, good 
varieties of red color. 

Houghton's seedling. 

An American seedling of very vigorous habit, great 
bearer, and said never to mildew. It is of pale red 
color, rather under medium size ; of good, rich flavor, 
and well worthy of cultivation. 

We have also cultivated for some years an American 
seedling variety resembling Ploughton's Seedling in 
every respect, except being of larger size, and greenish- 
white color. It is very valuable. 



THE GIUPE, 



It has often been asserted — we know not with, how 
much of truth — ^that in the vine districts of France, lung 
diseases are unknown ; but this we do know, that the 
free use of well-groAvn and well-ripened grapes would 
be decidedly beneficial to the general health. The 
cultivation of this excellent fruit embraces a very 
Avide range. In the first place, there is the very nice 
process of raising hot-house grapes: next, the cold 
vinery, which is simple and easy to be practised ; next, 
vineyard cultivation : but it will not be expected of us, 
in this brief notice, to more than refer to the common 
mode of out-door garden culture. The grape is easily 
and cheaply raised, but good cultivation is altogether 
the best economy. It is easily propagated from cut- 
tings. 'We have found it the best way to prune off our 
cuttings early in February, two feet in length, bury 
them in a bundle four or six inches deep in the ground 
immediatel}^, and for this purpose we choose the 
warmest weather in the month. 

Let them be in the ground till the warm weather in 

(87) 



88 THE GRAPE. 

the fore part of May : we then take them up and plant 
them in a sloping position, in a somewhat shaded 
situation, leaving the upper bud a feAv inches above 
ground. In this way ahnost every cutting will surel}^ 
grow, and after a year or two, should be carefully 
transplanted into the vine border. 

The preparation of this vine border is an important 
process in grape culture in private gardens. It should 
be made from four to six feet Avide, and two to three 
feet deep, and be composed of a liberal mixture of 
limestone, or old plaster or mortar, bones, leather-par- 
ings, hair, ashes, and strong, well-rotted manure, well 
mixed with the soil. 

A calcareous soil or gravelly loam is best for the 
grape, and should be well drained and warm. It is 
somewhat difficult in wet clay lands to raise good 
grapes, unless the vine border is carefully prepared. 
Soap-suds and wash from the house is favorable for 
the grape, and we have known some plants succeed 
well that were placed immediately under the spout 
of the sink. For vineyard culture, the nearer the 
process approximates to the one described above by 
trenching and enriching, the better. 

Every plant should be thoroughly pruned down to 
two or three leading shoots ; and after these cover the 
trellis or stakes as extensively as you wish, then the 
rule in pruning is, every year from December to first 



THE GRAPE. 89 

of February, fearlessly to cut back all of the last year's 
growth, so far as to leave only two eyes. It is also 
desirable, after the grapes are beginning to fill in June, 
to pinch back 'the terminal bud of every branch, and 
thus check its growth, and throw back its sap, to ripen 
the fruit and mature the wood. By pinching back, we 
mean, to pinch off with the thumb-nail and fore-finger 
the end of every bearing branch, and we then cut out 
all the superfluous little shoots and suckers. 

The vine is composed the gTcater part of potash, 
lime, and carbonic acid, and therefore a frequent appli- 
cation of ashes, lime, and soap-suds is beneficial. It 
has been asserted that tartaric acid is a valuable 
specific for the fruit, but of this we have no personal 
knowledge. 

The graj)e should always be grown in the warmest 
and most sheltered situation, so that the fruit may 
ripen well before frost. The south side of a house, or 
southern slope of a side-hill, should be chosen. 

In some places the mildew is troublesome to the 
grape, but sulphur sprinkled liberally on its first 
appearance will usually check it at once. There is 
also a kind of snail slug which often destroys the 
leaves in a few weeks. These can easily be destroyed 
by showering the vines two or three times with strong 
soap-suds from the wash. 

Our nurserymen have many kinds of the grape on 
5* 



90 THE GRAPE. 

their lists for open-air cultivation, but we are not quite 
sure that the Isabella and Catawba do not comprise sub- 
stantially the good qualities of all. The only complaint 
against them seems to be, they will not in all situations 
and all seasons at the North ripen before the frost. 

The Clinton is two weeks earlier than the Isahella^ 
but it is not near so large or good. 

The Catawba is still later than the Isabella^ and re- 
quires a warm soil and sheltered location to perfect its 
fruit, and then it is rich and truly delicious. 

We are in great want of a new seedling grape equal 
or superior to the Isabella and Catawba^ and decidedly 
two or three weeks earlier. We often have such 
announced, but they do not always prove satisfactory. 



l^ppniH^^ 



APPENDIX 



APPENDIX A. 



THE STRAWBERRY AND ITS CULTURE. 

BY CHARLES A. PEABODT, OP COLUMBUS, GEO. 

That eminent horticulturists are liable to be mistaken 
in their views of culture, as well as of the origin and 
history of plants, as any other class of men, we have 
ample proof in the conflicting opinions of the nature 
and culture of the strawberry. Downing says: "The 
strawberry is the most delicious and most wholesome 
of all berries, and the most universally cultivated in 
all gardens of a northern climate." Again he says: 
" The strawberry properly belongs to cold climates, 
and though well known, is of comparatively little value 
in the south of Europe." With this high authority, 
the horticulturists of the South never dreamed of cul- 
tivating the strawberry to any extent, although the 
woods and fields were covered with the wild fruit. It 
was a knowledge of the flict that the wild strawberry 
grew all around me, that induced me to try strawberry 
culture at the South. I do not believe there is a plant 
in nature that so easily adapts itself to soil, situation, 
and climate, as the strawberry. In many of its homes, 
however, it produces little or no fruit, spreading itself 
rapidly by its runners. 

(98) 



94 APPENDIX. 

Now, as there are two Avays of propagating the 
strawberry, one by its seeds and the other by its run- 
ners, the question is, which method do we prefer? If 
we were going to introduce the strawberry -leaf for a 
tea, for which it makes a good substitute, common 
sense would dictate to us to cultivate for runners, and 
stop the fruiting, or perfecting the seed, as the fruit is 
nothing more than the receptacle for the seed; and if, 
on the other hand, we wish seeds or fruit, we must 
cultivate for that purpose alone, and stop the runners. 

Intelligent experimental cultivators have long since 
discovered that plants have a specific food for their 
wood, leaves, and fruit. Physiologists know full well 
that it takes different substances to form the bones, 
flesh, and muscles of animals ; and, profiting by these 
hints in nature, I would feed for fruit instead of vines. 
Before planting out the vines, the cultivator should 
understand the sexual character of the plants, as upon 
a proper knowledge of this fact will depend his whole 
success in culture. That plants are staminate and pis- 
tillate, or male and female, no intelligent cultivator will 
now presume to deny. But in the strawberry there 
are three varieties — the perfect male, the perfect female, 
and the hermaphrodite. The perfect pistillate, or 
female, is the most productive of the three, when im- 
pregnated by one of the other kinds. The perfect 
staminate, or male, produces no fruit, making a great 
show of flowers, and sending out innumerable runners 
which will soon take possession of the whole bed. 
The hermaphrodite produces fruit, but not in so great 
abundance as the pistillate, and answers the purpose of 
an impregnator equally as well as the purely staminate. 



APPENDIX. 95 

These three varieties of floAvers are represented by figs. 
1, 2, and 8, page 37. 

Fig. 1 is from an hermaphrodite plant, which blooms 
and impregnates itself The stamens, marked a, are 
full of a fine pollen, or yellow powder, which falling 
on the end of the unopened calyx of the buds, below 
the flower, or around it, on the pistillate plants, is 
carried by an unseen agency direct to the pistil, im- 
pregnating and setting the fruit. This variety is the 
Early Scarlet, a continiious bloomer with my culture, 
and the best impregnator for the ever-bearing Hovey 
Seedling I have ever met. 

Fig. 2 is the sterile staminate, or male plant, never 
producing fruit under any circumstances whatever. It 
will be observed the flower is larger and more showy 
than the others. It deceives many an inexperienced 
cultivator with its false promises of fruit. The flo^srer 
of the pure male may be easily known by its large 
anthers and stamens, as marked «, Z>, in Fig. 2. 

Fig. 8 is the pistillate or female blossom. It will be 
observed that there are no stamens around the pistil, as 
6, but nearly every bud will produce a berry if impreg- 
nated by one of the staminate or hermaphrodite plants . 
Of this variety is the Hovey Seedling, Avhich, as far as 
my experience goes, is the best strawberry ever yet 
cultivated, North or South. 

Before proceeding to the method of culture, I will 
give my views of the time of impregnation, being fully 
satisfied that the generally received opinion that tlie 
strawberry is impregnated after the petals expand, is 
entirely erroneous. I have long since observed that 
the first strawberry blossoms never produce fruit. The 



96 APPENDIX. 

stamiiiate varieties, or rather the hermaphrodite, open 
from two to ten blossoms, which must shed their pollen 
on the ends of the unopened calyx of the young buds 
below, or fall on the ends of the unopened pistillate 
buds, and immediately cause impregnation. 

The pollen of flowers is one of the most volatile 
substances in nature. That of the strawberry, viewed 
through a microscope, is a hairy substance, which, 
upon ripening, bursts and floats off on the least 
breath of air. The j)oiiit of the ' unopened calyx 
contains a glutinous matter, which catches and holds 
this hairy pollen, and the work of impregnation is 
done ; and when the calyx opens, and the petals ex- 
pand, the young strawberry may be seen perfectly 
formed. From this will be seen the importance of the 
pistillate and staminate varieties blooming together. I 
would always prefer the pistillate plant for a large fruit 
crop ; for, if properly impregnated, nearly every bud 
will be a berry. Thousands of blossoms will be 
found in the beds to correspond with figures 2 and 8. 
Fig. 2, let it be recollected, is a staminate or male 
flower, and fig. 8 an impregnated pistillate or female 
flower, neither of which, by itself, can ever make fruit. 

Having now explained the sexual character of the 
plant, and the time of impregnation, I will proceed to 
the culture. As I have before stated, were I to culti- 
vate for vines alone, I would stimulate the plants by 
the most active fertilizers ; but if fruit be the object, 
the luxuriance of the vine must be curtailed, and that 
food only, known as the special food of the fruit, given. 

Now, as to soils. There are as many opinions as cul- 
tivators, from the fact that the strawberry adapts itself 



APPENDIX. 97 

to almost any kind of soil. But t1ie soil which I have 
found to suit them best, is a sandy loam. I would pre- 
fer new land for the beds, Avith a stream of water 
running through them, as water, being an indispensable 
requisite, should be in the vicinity. 

It is now well known throughout the Southern 
States that for many years I have cultivated the straw- 
berry extensively, and have had from my beds a con- 
stant succession of fruit six months in the year, and 
frequently have it ten. While I am now writing, 
(December 24,) one of my beds, of an acre, is loaded 
with ripe fruit, specimens of which I have sent to New 
Orleans, Montgomery, Savannah, Charleston, Mobile, 
and New York. This bed has scarcely produced a 
runner the past season. The causes of this will be 
jbund in my method of culture. I have said that I 
prefer a sandy soil and new land. My grounds are on 
what are called "piney Avoodlands," hill and valley, 
with never -failing streams meandering through them. 
I have taken the grounds bordering on the streams, 
ploughed them deep, and laid them off in rows, two 
feet apart, and planted as indicated in the annexed 
diagTam : — 
ooocoooo Early Scarlet. 

* * -^ * * * * * Hovey's. 

7v w 7v Tr W 7^ %v "TT \-\ f)'\T f^\r Ql 

* ^ * * - - * * Hovey's. 

* - ^ ^ '^ - -^ * Hovey's. 
*******-^ Hovey's. 

* * ->f ^- -^ * * * Hovey's. 

* * -x- * * -x -jf * Hovey's. 
<^"<^ooocoo 'Early Scarlet. 



98 APPENOIX. 

I plant the pistillate for fruit, and the hermaphrodite 
for impregnators ; and the only two which I have 
found to bloom and fruit together the whole season are 
the Hovey Seedling and Large Early Scarlet. Koss 
Phoenix, Burr's New Pine, and a seedling of my own, 
not yet fully tested, I have also caused to bear continu- 
ously. I plant seven rows of the pistillate, and one 
row of the hermaphrodite, two feet apart each way. 
The first season I let the runners fill the ground ; in 
the fall, go through the grounds with hoes, thinning 
out to 8 or 10 inches, leaving the vines to decay just 
where they are cut up. I then cover the whole bed 
with partially decomposed leaves from the woods or 
swamps. The winter rains beat down the leaves, the 
fruit-germ finds its way through them, and the first mild 
weather of spring, the blossoms appear. 

I have before spoken of the volatile nature of the 
pollen. In very dry weather the particles float ofi" on 
the winds, and much is lost to the buds below ; hence 
the importance of watering freely when in bloom. 
Free applications of water will set the whole bed with 
fruit, which will require continuous watering to swell 
and ripen it. A straAvberry bed may be moist, the 
plants in fine condition, and yet one good shoAver will 
make a difference of one-third in the quantity of fruit 
picked the day after. Consequently, in dry seasons, 
artificial Avatering must be resorted to, and no labor 
Avill pay better. 

I never use animal manure of any kind — nothing 
but the leaf-mould, and an occasional sprinkling of 
wood-ashes. The leaf-mould keeps the ground cool 
and moist, as A\^ell as the fruit clean, and does not sti- 



APPENDIX. 99 

mulate the vines to runners. The potash and acids 
contained in it are just what the fruit wants. Should 
the vines be disposed to spread, keep the runners 
down by constant j)inching off, and clear out the grass 
and weeds with the hoe. A few years of this culture 
will check their disposition to run, and encourage them 
to fruit. The bed, once thus formed and cultivated, 
will, to my certain knowledge, continue productive 
twelve years, and, I have reason to believe, as much 
longer as the cu.lture is continued. Should the vines 
have taken possession of the ground, in spite of the 
efforts to keep the runners down, we go through in the 
fall with the hoe, thinning out the plants to 10 or 12 
inches, leaving every cut-up vine to decay on the ground 
where it grew ; we then cover with the decaying leaves. 
When the plants begin to bloom in the spring, a top- 
dressing of wood-ashes will be found beneficial. I 
have tried strawberry culture with the plough, wliich 
will make a greater quantity of vines, but will give 
only one crop of fruit. It is generally remarked that 
the wild strawberry is finer flavored than the cultivated ; 
but Avith this treatment the latter retains all the original 
flavor. 

It has been recommended by some cultivators to 
irrigate the strawberry grounds by letting water on the 
vines ; but the straAvberry, cultivated after the manner 
described, can bear as great a drought as any other 
plant. It is not the vines and leaves that want the 
water, but the flowers and fruit ; and the water must 
come in the form of rain, through the clouds, from an 
engine, or a common watering-pot. 

I have noticed quite a contest going on among hor- 



100 APPENDIX. 

ticulturists as to the possibility of strawberries chang- 
ing their sexual character by caltivation. Without 
taking part in the controversy, I must state that I 
would as soon think of high feed turning a cow to a 
bull, as to change the pistillate character of Hoyey's 
Seedling by any method of cultiyation. I haye culti- 
vated the strawberry under every aspect ; with high 
manuring, and without manure ; in new lands, and on 
old lands ; have had the vines stand from 12 to 18 
inches high, and in meek submission to hug the 
ground ; yet I have never found the least change in the 
blossom. A perfect pistillate or staminate flower, first 
blooming so from seed, will never bloom any other 
way. Cultivators are often deceived about their plants, 
from the fact that they frequently find varieties in the 
beds which they did not plant ; but these spring from 
seed. The strawberry springs from seed with astonish- 
ing rapidity. Since my beds Avere started, the whole 
country around me is covered with strawberry -plants 
from the seed dropped by birds. These I find running 
into all varieties — pistillate, staminate, and hermaphro- 
dite — most of them worthless, but some with good fruit. 
The proper time for transplanting the strawberry at 
the South, is as soon in the fall as the weather is cool 
and moist enough. Here, this may be continued until 
S2:)ring. Plants are easily transported great distances 
in the winter. I have sent them 2,000 miles with safe- 
ty. It will be observed by the diagram, that I plant 
the staminate every eighth row. Some cultivators mix 
in the rows ; but I prefer to keep them separate and 
distinct, as they are more easily distinguished, and kept 
better in their places. 



APPENDIX. 101 

Now, if the cultivator would know the secret of my 
having strawberries six, eight, and even ten months in 
the year, in the hot climate of Georgia and Alabama, 
it is this: proper location, vegetable manures, shade 
to the ground, without exhaustion, and water to the 
bloom and fruit. 

One reason \vdiy so n;iany fail in garden culture with 
the strawberry is, that the beds are surrounded by trees 
and shrubbery, which may produce one crop of fruit 
in the spring, but rarely more than that, unless it 
should prove a very wet season. The strawberry-bed, 
whether in the garden or the field, should have no tree, 
plant, or shrub near enough to it to take the moisture 
from the earth. The plants require all the moisture 
from the atmosphere and the earth around them. 
Whether the strawberry was originally found in cold 
climates, or not, I find they readily adapt themselves 
to any climate, and very soon become indigenous. I 
doubt whether there is a State in this Union that can- 
not produce the strawberry months, instead of weeks, 
in the year, with proper culture. And when we take 
into consideration the ease and simplicity of its cul- 
ture, its continued bearing and productiveness, its 
exemption from all insect depredations, its delicious 
flavor and healthy influence upon the system, it ranks 
first in importance among the fruits of the earth. 



Columbus, Ga., August 22, 1854. 
Mr. R G. Pakdee: 

Dear Sir : — I find the strawberry running into a 



102 APPENDIX. 

great many new varieties tlirongli its seeds, but I have 
never yet found the character of a plant to change by 
culture — a pistillate will be pistillate still, no matter 
how cultivated. As to varieties, for general culture, I 
do not believe there is any thing to compare with 
Hovey's Seedling, when impregnated . by a constant 
bloomer. I have a new seedling, from the Eoss Phoe- 
nix, and a wild strawberry, of Alabama, that, for size, 
beauty, and lusciousness, surpasses Hovey's as much 
as Hovey's does the Early Scarlet : shall not be able 
to test its producing qu.alities until 1855. The past 
season has developed in a wonderful degree the pro- 
priety of the principles of my culture. For near two 
months it has scarcely rained; gardens and flower- 
yards have been entirely destroyed, and the staple 
crops have suffered materially. My strawberry plants 
have made no runners, but look fresh and green — the 
beds being in the best possible order for next spring's 
bearing. Had my beds been highly manured, and cul- 
tivated in the common Avay, I should not have had a 
living plant left. Tliere is a vast difference in the 
nature and habits of plants to withstand heat. Kichard 
Peters, Esq., of Atlanta, Ga., last year sent me some 
hundreds of a staminate strawberry, supposed to be a 
native of Georgia, which he thought would answer as 
a better impregnator to the Hoveys than the Early 
Scarlet. I planted them among the Hoveys ; they 
grew and bore finely this spring, but the drought has 
killed every plant, whilst the Hoveys are unscathed. 
Should the fall prove wet and mild, my vines, from 
not having made runners, will be in full fruit. In the 
forthcoming Patent Office Eeport, I have given my 



APPENDIX. 108 

views upon the time at wliicli the impregnation takes 
place ; as that is fully explained by engravings, I refer 
your readers to that Eeport. The more experience I 
have in straAvberry culture at the South, the stronger 
I am convinced you may prolong their bearing season 
at the North until frost. I tried an experiment this 
season, which may be a warning to southern culti- 
vators. On a portion of one of my beds, I placed 
cotton seed around the plants, just as we use leaves, 
straw, &c.; the result has been, that, where the cotton 
seed was, every plant has burned up. This more 
strongly than ever satisfies me that leaves and vegeta- 
ble mould are the only safe manures for the straw- 
berry. These, with plenty of water, judiciously ap- 
})lied, will give fruit months instead of weeks. 

Truly yours, 

Chas. a. Peabody. 



APPENDIX B. 

We give the following extracts from letters from 
Henry Lavv^rence, Esq., of New Orleans, La. They 
commence under date of 20th August, 1851, as fol- 
lows : 

It is perfectly correct, as stated in the ^^ Picayune ^'^ 
that I have succeeded in raising strawberries wliich 
yield from Christmas to the loth of July, a period 
of nearly seven months. Their production is purely 
accidental; by trying experiments for several years. 



104 APPENDIX. 

I have attained the object desked, viz : by keeping/* 
them in continual bearing without exhausting the 
phmt. I have named them the " Crescent Seedling." 
They are a cross between Myatt's British Queen and 
Keen's Seedling. The fruit is very large, frequently 
measuring five and a half inches in circumference, 
conical, and the color a dark red, and highly flavored. 
I cultivate them in hills^ that is to say, the plants set out 
thirty inches each way ; in the growing season, manure 
the avenues and keep the soil loose. My plants are 
so luxuriant in their foliage, that neither grass nor 
weeds appear. In this way my beds yield from six 
to seven months in the year in the open air. I have 
half an acre under cultivation at this time. 

In a letter of the 9th November, he says : 

"You will at once remark how different the Zea/ and 
its thickness is to any plant of its species you have here- 
tofore seen. So remarkably prolific are they with me, 
that for six months the same plant is in blossom, unripe 
and ripe fruit together, so that at the expiration of the 
fruiting season! ! they are completely worn out, but 
not until they make three or four runners each, with 
which I plant anew each succeeding year. All the old 
stools die out. How different — is it not ? — to other 
varieties of the strawberry. 

I neither cut off the blossoms nor any part of them 
to increase their bearing : It is one continued crop from 
the first jump. They are all now coming into blossom^ 
and will so continue until July or August. I freely 
admit that I consider their extraordinary bearing 
qualities purely accidental." 



APPENDIX. xv.'c 

On the 9th April, 1852, he says : 

*' I have had strawberries on my table since the 
4th January last, and at the present moment I have 
them in the greatest abundance, the average weight 
being one ounce^ and about three inches in circumfer- 
ence : and this will continue without intermission until 
about the middle of August, when they will stop and 
throw out runners. 

Under date of 7th May, 1852, he writes : 

" My Crescent Seedlings are still wonderfully pro- 
lific. I counted with a friend, a few days since, on 
numerous plants, thii'ty-three, thirty -five, thirty-six and 
thirty-seven berries. My ground is now red with fruity 
not green mth leaves.^'' 

On the fourth of August, in another letter, Mr. 
Lawrence says: 

"lam extremely gratified to learn that you have 
• at length succeeded in preserving six or eight of my 
seedlings. If, as you say, they are striking runners 
freely, you have nothing to fear : you will soon have 
enough to stock your garden, and besides, ample for 
sale. Should the weather prove dry, give them plenty 
of Avater in the evening, and as soon as the fruit 
sets, in a dry time, give them likewise plenty of water ; 
in a w^ord, I presume you are fully aware, as a large 
grower of this delicious fruit, that no fruit supports 
as much moisture as the strawberry. My manner of 
cultivating the * Crescent Seedling' is very simple. I 
give it all it requires to perfect its fruit, and check 
the luxuriance of the vine, by reducing our rich allu- 



106 APPENDIX. 

vial soil by two-thirds ; that is, I add two-thirds of river 
sand to one of ours : this mode, likewise, enables the 
plant to withstand the excessively hot months of June 
July, and August ; in fact, the soil best adapted to seed- 
lings is a sandy loam ; and I also know, by experience, 
that the less manure of any kind is used, the better it 
is for the plant. In planting, I never mulch. I place 
each plant ten inches apart, and eighteen inches to 
two feet between the rows. In dry weather I water 
copiously two or three times, in as many consecutive 
days, and then let them take care of themselves for a 
while ; when the ground is moist from previous rains 
during the planting season, I never water. I transplant 
every year into new beds, as new soil is preferable to 
old ; besides, as I before noticed in a former letter, the 
old stools die out completely by over-production of 
fruit and incessant bearing. I gathered ike last fruit of 
the season on the 25th July, which is precisely seven 
months to a day since they commenced bearing, viz : 
on the 25th December, 1851. This experiment of 
mine, accidental as it is, I consider as one among the 
wondrous productions of nature : a similar accident 
may not occur again for many years. I am, and always 
was, impressed with the belief that I have been aided 
by our climate in producing this truly extraordinary 
strawberry, and although I give myself but little credit, 
I feel proud that it should be so widely known and so 
favorably noticed throughout the Union. I disliked 
my name going forth to the world, but in spite of 
myself I could not prevent it. My only aim is for plea- 
sure and amusement in this delightful climate of ours." 



APPENDIX. 107 

And on the lltli November, 1852, he replies to my 
inquiries as follows : 

"1st. The runners hear the same season they strike. 

"2d. It is the same identical plant hears fruit so fine 
and large in January, and which continues to bear, 
until July following, a constant crop. Weak plants are 
shy bearers at all times. I plant none but the strongest 
plants, (runners;) the weaker ones I neither use nor 
dispose of until they are fit for setting out." 

In 1853, he again writes, "that they never were 
doing so well in all the South below Charleston, S. C." 

There will be found many valuable suggestions in 
this correspondence with Mr. Lawrence, which will 
tend to throw light on the great question. 

We are inclined to think that the superior location 
of Mr. Lawrence — the low bottom lands near New 
Orleans — and his superior cultivation, have more to do 
with the character of the Crescent Seedling than he 
supposes. However, it is a good plant to expermient 
with, and they are now easily obtained in the State of 
New York, or of B. M. Watson, Plymouth, Massachu- 
setts. 



APPENDIX C. 



(From Downing's HorticulturlBt.) 



TWO EXPERIMENTS MADE TO TEST MR. LONGWORTH'S 
STRAWBERRY THEORY. 

Taking Hovey's Seedling as a subject, I procured a 
bell-glass, and placed it over an entire plant which had 



108 APPENDIX. 

not bloomed. The flowers expanded well under tlie 
glass, but did not produce one berry. The plant was 
frequently agitated to put the pollen in motion, if 
tliere was any. 

I also introduced under a glass some blossom buds 
before tliey bad blown. These, as they successively 
expanded, showed no signs of swelling. I impreg- 
nated, at different times, two of the blossoms by hand, 
applying the pollen from another plant with a camel's 
hair pencil. These two set their fruit perfectly. The 
pistils of the other blossoms soon turned to a dark 
color. These experiments were made at the north 
side of a picket fence, where the plants were screened 
from the full effects of the sun, otherwise the heat 
under the glasses would have been too great. 

These experiments prove, to my mind, very conclu- 
sively, that Hovey's Seedling will not bear any fruit 
"unless impregnated by some staminate variety. And 
the same may be said of other varieties in which the 
stamens are obsolete. I have had some plants of the 
Hudson Bay for three years, in a position vv^here they 
cannot very easily be impregnated by other kinds, 
during which time they have notborne one berry, while 
other plants of the same variety, exposed, have been 
productive. A difference in the formation of the 
flowers on different plants is not confined to cultivated 
kinds, but may be seen in those growing wild in the 
fields, the pistillate plants of which I have often exa- 
mined with a magnifying-glass, to see if I could dis- 
cover any pollen, but have never been able to find it ; 
I am forced, therefore, to believe that pistillate plants, 
both wild and cultivated, are absolutely devo 



APPENDIX. 109 

len, and cannot, therefore, produce any fruit except 
when impregnated by others. 

I am also convinced, from observation and theory, 
that one kind will never change to the other by offsets, 
the runner bearing the same relation to the plant pro- 
ducing it as a tree grown from a bud does to the tree 
from which it was taken. It may, then, be asked, How 
does it happen that there are pistillate and staminate 
plants of the same variety ? / answer^ It is not thefact^ 
unless they have sprung from seed, or the plants have 
been taken from the fields in a wild state. 

That pistillate plants are surer and better bearers 
than staminate plants, is, I think, generally true, (pro- 
vided, of course, that they are impregnated.) And it 
would seem reasonable to infer that when but one of 
the sexual organs is complete, the other will have 
more strength. Plants, therefore, that are perfect in 
both organs, require a higher state of cultivation. 
There is, however, a wide difference in the product- 
iveness of different kinds that are perfect in both 
organs, some being much more liable to hlast than 
others. Gr. W. Huntsman. 

Flushing, L. /., July 14, 1846. 



APPEiXDIX D. 



Cincinnati, Ohio, Aug. 14:tl], 1854. 
Mr. E. Gr. Pardee : 

Dear Sir: — By this mail I send you a grape 
pamphlet, containing an article written by me on 



110 APPENDIX. 

the strawberry. I will, in a day or two, send you a 
Eeport of our Strawberry Committee, written by Dr. 
Warder, on Mr. Meehan's doctrine of changing a pis- 
tillate to a staminate plant. Mr. Meehan finds plants 
that he took from what was called a bed of Hovey's 
Seedling, and had nearly all proved staminates or 
hermaphrodites. Dr. Warder and Mr. Heath, of our 
city, saw his plants, and found about one Hovey to 
the hundred. The Hovey is so strongly marked, that 
our children can distinguish the plant from all others. 
Mr. Meehan never heard of a pistillate plant till he 
came to America. I sent some of our seedlings to the 
President of the London Horticultural Society last 
winter, and among them pistillates. He replied that 
he was not aware that there were plants that would 
not bear fruit without impregnation, and suggested 
that the failure tcTbear, he presumed, was from frost. 
He promised to investigate the subject. Mr. Hunts- 
man, of Flushing, Long Island, is a botanist, and has 
given great attention to the cultivation and sexes of 
the plant. From the stem and leaf he can designate 
some fifty varieties that he has had in cultivation. I 
would recommend you to get his views. It is singu- 
lar that after public attention has been brought to 
the question for twenty years or more, even botan- 
ists and horticultural editors deny the doctrine. If 
generally understood, the discovery of the ignorant 
market-gardener is worth millions of dollars. After 
I had made the discovery, from a chance obser- 
vation of a son of Mr. Abergust, I was at the gardens 
of persons near the city of Philadelphia, where 
Mr. Abergust resided, prior to his removal to Cin- 



APPENDIX. Ill 

cinnati, and named the matter to them. " Oh," said 
the J, "we now understand it. He lived near ns, 
and from the same space of ground raised five times 
as much fruit as we could, and larger. Every fall he 
thinned out his plants, and threw them in the road ; 
we gathered them, and planted them in our gardens, 
and they never bore a single fruit." He threw out 
staminates only, and to deceive them. The son of Mr. 
Abergust was in my garden a few days before my plants 
were in blossom, and observed, "Your strawberries 
bear a bad crop." I observed, such was the fact. He 
added, " They are all males." I replied, "That is all non- 
sense. The strawberry is a plant that bears flowers per- 
fect in both organs." " I am no botanist," said he, "but 
I know most of yours will bear no fruit." I requested 
him to point out any that would. He selected two. 
I inquired, " Can you then see the difference ?" " Not 
noAV," said he; "I could if they were in blossom." I 
found him disposed to give no ^rther information. I 
marked the plants, and vv^hen in blossom, could distin- 
guish them at a distance of several feet. There was 
not one of these to the hundred. Before they were 
out of blossom, I cast them all out, as I supposed; 
they spread, and the next season I had a full crop. 
But finding a few barren plants before they were out 
of blossom, I dug them all up, and the next season 
had not a single berry. I then understood the subject, 
and made it known. In that day we had no her- 
maphrodite plants. 

Yours truly, 

N. LONGWORTH. 



APPENDIX. 
THE STRAWBERRY. 

^TRACT FROM THE REPORT OF NICHOLAS LONGWORTH TO THE 
CINCINNATI HORTICULTUR-y:^ SOCIETY. 

I EEGRET that the committee on the character of the 
strawberry plant have not yet been able to make up 
a unanimous report. It arises from a failure of the 
crop with some members of the committee, and from a 
conviction with our European gardeners, that all va- 
rieties were perfect in both organs, in Europe ; and 
they are slow to believe the contrary. This, I am 
positive, is not the fact in England. In some soils and 
some climates, and in favorable seasons, such stami- 
nate plants as are partially perfect in the female organs 
yield a larger crop than usual ; but can never be made 
to bear a full crop. But in raising from seed, fully 
one half will in general be staminate plants, and not 
one in fifty of them bear even a single fruit. Those 
that do bear, produce many defective berries. I 
do not believe that any soil, climate, or season, can 
make the pistillate plant bear singly ; and it is the 
only one worthy of cultivation for a crop. Of this, 
and of the staminate and pistillate character of the 
plant in England, we have positive evidence from their 
great horticulturist. Keen himself In the year 1809, 
(if my memory serves me as to date,) Keen discovered 
that a new seedling of his, planted by itself, did not 
swell the fruit. On a careful examination of the blos- 
som, it struck him that it might be owing to a defect 
in the male organs. He then placed some staminate 
blossoms in a vial of water, and suspended them in 
the bed. He found the fruit in the vicinity to swell 



APPENDIX. 118 

immediately, and he placed more vials of staniinate 
blossoms in different parts of tlie bed, and had a fme 
crop. His letter will be found in the Transactions of 
the London Horticultural Society for that year. What 
was true in 1809, will be found still to be true. I 
have further evidence of the character of the plant in 
England. Fifteen years since, I imported several va- 
rieties of strawberries from London, and among them 
I had both staminate and pistillate plants, but not one 
variety in which both organs were perfect in all the 
blossoms. The staminate varieties bore from one- 
tenth to one- third of a crop. Under the name of 
Keen's Seedling, I got a pistillate plant that, impreg- 
nated, produces abundantly, and the fruit is large and 
fine. By themselves, an acre would not produce a 
perfect berry. It is not what in England is generally 
known by the name of Keen's Seedling. Mr. Keen 
raised many varieties. The true Keen is a staminate 
plant, and is more perfect in both organs than is usual, 
and produces a partial crop of large fruit. I incline 
to the belief, that for market, their gardeners cultivate 
the same seedling of his as the one sent me, and ]oro- 
bably the same kind he impregnated by hand. It is 
truly a valuable kind, and worth twenty of the stami- 
nate seedlings. The staminate Keen is cultivated for 
forcing, and as the object is large fruit, all the blos- 
soms are picked off, except three or four that set first. 

I have this moment received a letter from Col. Carr, 

an old and experienced horticulturist of Philadelphia. 

He writes me, " I have conversed with Mr. Hobson and 

others, who pay great attention to the cultivation of 

6* 



114 APPENDIX. 

the strawberry, and they all unite with me in opinion." 
"The Hudson is the principal sort cultivated for 
market, and has been for fifty years. It is what we 
call female or prolific. It never has a neck. A Mr. 
Abergust, who was my near neighbor, and excelled in 
strawberries, removed to Cincinnati about thirty years 
since, and took the true Hudson with him, and the 
same now cultivated here. All our principal market 
gardeners now begin perfectly to understand the differ- 
ence between staminate and pistillate plants, and find 
the former such strong runners as generally to prefer 
keeping them in separate beds." Mr. Abergust for 
many years sold nine-tenths of the strawberries brought 
to our market, and raised the Hudson only. While I 
could, from one-fourth of an acre, scarcely raise a 
bushel, he would raise forty bushels. His fruit was 
much larger than any other brought to market, and 
commanded from 25 to STg cents per quart. He made 
a handsome competence from the sale of his fruit. His 
secret he kept to himself, and had been as much noted 
for the size of his fruit, and the quantity raised on a 
given space of ground, in Philadelphia as he was here. 
A chance observation of a son of his one day, in my 
garden, saying, " I must raise but little fruit, as all my 
plants were males," first led my attention to the sub- 
ject. I soon discovered that there were what he called 
male and female plants, and communicated the fact to 
our market gardeners. The result was, strawberries 
rapidly increased in our market, till as fine as had been 
raised by Mr. Abergust were sold at from 8 to 10 cents 
per quart, and he ceased to cultivate them. 



APPENDIX. 115 

The Early Scarlet is raised to some extent; but 
four-fifths of all the strawberries sold in our mar- 
ket are the Necked Pine and Hudson; mostly the 
latter. Mr. Culbertson brings more strawberries to our 
market than any other person. The greatest quantity 
he has brought in any single day was four thousaiid 
quarts ; and not one of the kinds named in the Farmer 
and Mechanic among them. All were the Hudson. 
By properly understanding the true character of the 
plant, Mr. Culbertson has been able to gather nearly as 
many quarts in a single day as three Boston cultivators 
were able to do in a whole season. I saw an editorial 
article in a recent eastern horticultural paper, speaking 
in high terms of the Alpine strawberry, as raised by a 
Col. Stoddert, and its great produce, which yielded him, 
at 122 cents per quart, upwards of $1,600 to the acre. 
It is an indifferent fruit, and never yielded one-fourth 
the quantity. 

Can Hovey's Seedling, or any other large-fruited 
pistillate strawberry, be impregnated by the Alpine 
Monthly ? It is my impression that they are distmct 
species, and that it cannot be done. K it can, a cross 
might be produced that, with the size and flavor 
of the one, united the ever-bearing character of the 
other. There is a wild, ever-bearing variety in our 
State, that would cross with the Scarlet and Pine, and 
is the only kind I have ever seen worthy of the name 
of ever-bearing ; for the Alpine, after the first crop, 
rarely produces much fruit through the season. Thirty 
years since, I met with a solitary strawberry plant on 
Mount Adams, then in bloom. I removed it to my 
garden, and the plant not only bloomed freely till frost, 
but all the runners threw out blossoms at the same 



116 APPENDIX. 

time that tliey made roots, and bore abundantly till late 
in the fall. The fruit was small, but of fine flavor. A 
new hand in the garden, early the next spring, sup- 
posed they were weeds, and destroyed them. The old 
pioneer, Lewis Davis, informed me the same variety 
grew in Greene county, on the cliffs, and had been fre- 
quently seen by him. I trust it may again be disco- 
vered, and Ohio have the credit of producing the only 
ever-bearing strawberry, as well as raspberry. The 
latter plant, to produce a good crop, during the summer 
and fall, requires a moist soil. My ground in the city 
is too rich and dry for it. I have never seen the plant 
bear as well as in Newark, New Jersey, on a side-hill, 
where the ground is moist, poor and stony. The plant 
did not attain half the size it does here ; but the fruit 
was large and abundant till frost. 

N. LONGWORTH. 



CINCINNATI HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

The Secretary, at the requ.est of the Societ}^, rejDorted 
a written statement of how he found the strawberry 
question in Philadelphia ; after some animated discus- 
sion, it was moved to accept and file the report, and 
the finality was ordered to appear in the minutes of 
the day. 

It has long been argued by some distinguished hor- 
ticultural writers that certain varieties of the strawberry 
— ^for instance, Hovey's Seedling — would produce at 
one time plants with pistillate, and at another time 
staminate blossoms. This error has been explained 
by the fact, that a bed of strawberry plants of any 
known pistillate variety, after standing three or four 



APPENDIX. 117 

years, and the fruit falling and decaying on the bed, 
will produce seedling plants, and of course new varie- 
ties, and these are as likely to be staminate as pistil- 
late sorts. The following is the 

Finality on the Strawbekry. — Wild or culti- 
vated, the strawberry presents, in its varieties, four 
distinct forms or characters of infloresence. 

1st. Those called Pistillate^ from the fact that the 
stamens are abortive, and rarely to be found without 
a dissection of the flower. These require extrinsic 
impregnation. 

2d. Those called Staminate^ which are perfectly des- 
titute of even the rudiments of pistils, and are neces- 
sarily fruitless. 

8d. Those called Hermaphrodite or perfect, having 
both sets of organs, stamens and pistils, apparently well 
developed. These are not generally good and certain 
bearers, as we should expect them to be. With few 
exceptions they bear poorly, owing to some unob- 
served defect, probably in the pistils. One-tenth of 
their flowers generally produce perfect and often very 
large berries. 

4th. A rare class — a sort of subdivision of the pre- 
ceding — has not only hermaphrodite flowers, but also 
some on the same truss that are of the pistillate cha- 
racter ; and sometimes, in the same plant, a truss will 
be seen on which all the flowers are pistillate. 

Now these four divisions are natural and rea7; they 
are also founded upon permanent character, so far as 
we have been able to discover, after a most thorough 
investigation, extending through a long series of years, 
during which millions of strawberry blossoms have 



118 



APPENDIX. 



been examined with the severest scrutiny. Other 
forms may exist, and it is not claimed to be impossible 
that we may yet find a seedling which shall have the 
general character of a pistillate, that may show an 
occasional perfect or hermaphrodite flower, as a pecu- 
liarity of that individual, but we have never yet 
observed such a variety ; and, further, we believe that 
whatever impress, as to peculiarities of foliage, pubes- 
cence, habit, inflorescence, or fruit, each distinct seed- 
ling may receive with its origin, it will be retained in 
its increase by runners, so long as the variety remains 
extant. Seedlings may vary from the parent, but off- 
shoots will not be materially different, except by 
accidental malformation or by development of unim- 
portant organs. 

John A. Warder, Secretary. 



REPORT 

Of the Committee of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society on the 
Statistics of the Strawberry, and the quantity sold in the Cincin- 
nati market, for the year 184G : 

June Ist 100 bushels. 

2d 300 

3d 300 

4th 300 

5th ,...300 

Gth 350 

8th 100 

9th 350 

10th 300 

11th 250 

12th 150 



20th . . . 


20 


2l8t 

22d 


20 

25 


23d 


55 


25th..,.. 
2Gth 


. .... 20 
250 


27th 

28th 


200 

200 


29th 


250 


30th 


300 



Total, for 22 days, 4,150 bushels. 

D. K. Cadt, Chairman. 



APPENDIX. 119 

APPENDIX E. 

From tho " Horticulturist," August, 1864. By P. Baekt, Editor. 
THE CULTIVATION OF THE STRAWBERRY. 
The discussion of the Strawberry question, which 
has occupied the pages of agricultural and horticultural 
journals so largely for a few years past, has been the 
means, directly and indirectly, of advancing materially 
the cultivation of that fruit. We find ample evidence 
of this in the more abundant supply of our markets, 
and in the production of a large number of seedling 
varieties. Eecent letters from correspondents in all 
parts of the country, as well as the reports of late 
exhibitions, all testify to the very general interest 
which is felt on the subject, and the progress that has 
been made. But, after all, we are constrained to say 
that our cultivation is yet very indifferent. The size and 
appearance of the great bidk of fruit offered in market, 
convince us of this. Those who know how to culti- 
vate, are in many cases slovenly, or act upon the prin- 
ciple that good culture will not pay ; while there are 
many who fail for want of correct information. We 
have now before us a large number of inquiries on the 
subject. One wants to know how to prepare the soil ; 
another, when to plant; and another, how to plant. 
Several correspondents who are well informed on the 
subject of cultivation, ask us to give them the names 
of the best perfect-flowering sorts, as they are tired of 
keeping separate the staminate and pistillate varieties. 
We have therefore thought it might be well to offer 
a few hints which will serve as a general answer. 



120 APPENDIX. 

We will state here, at the outset, that to cultivate 
the strawberry successfully, is but a simple matter. 
To grow large, handsome, fine-flavored fruit in abund- 
ance, it is not necessary to employ a chemist to furnish 
us with a long list of specifics, nor even to employ a 
gardener by profession who can boast of long years of 
experience. Any one who can manage a cro23 of corn 
or potatoes, can, if he will, grow strawberries. We 
say this much by way of encouragement, because so 
much has been said in regard to various methods of 
culture, and various applications and specifics, that 
some people have become persuaded that a vast deal of 
learning and experience is necessary to produce large 
crops of strawberries. 

Judging from what we have seen, we believe that 
the great cause of failure is negligence. The straw- 
berry plant — not like a tree, which, when once set in 
its place, remains there — ^is constantly sending out 
shoots (runners) in all directions, .taking possession of 
the ground rapidly around the parent plant. In a 
short time, therefore, unless these runners are kept in 
check, the ground becomes entirely occupied with 
plants, the parent plants become exhausted, and the 
ground can no longer be stirred or ke23t in such a con- 
dition as is necessary to sustain their vigor. The re- 
sult is, the ground is covered vv^ith a mass of starved 
and weakly plants, choking up each other in a hard, 
uncultivated soil, and producing a spare crop of small, 
insipid berries, that dry up on their stalks before they 
are ripe, unless rain happens to fall every day. 

The constant stirring of the soil around the plants, 
is one thing which in our climate is absolutely neces- 



APPENDIX. 121 

sary ; and any system of culture which prechides this, 
or throws any obstacle in its way, is defective. If any 
one will examine his strawberry beds, he will find the 
plants along the outer edges of the beds, where the soil 
has been kept clean and fresh by the frequent use of 
the hoe, vigorous and healthy, with luxuriant dark- 
green foliage, and large, fine fruit ; while in the interior 
of the beds, where the plants have grown into masses, 
and covered all the ground, so as to prevent its cultiva- 
tion, they are yellow and sickly -looking, and the fruit 
poor and worthless. This we see in our own grounds, 
and everywhere that we find plants growing under 
similar circumstances. Does this not shoAV the neces- 
sity of cultivation close around the plants ? Ko mat- 
ter how deep we may trench the soil, or how unsparing 
we may be with manures, or hoAv copiously we supply 
moisture, this cultivation cannot be dispensed with, if 
we aim at producing fine fruits and abundance of 
them. "But," says one cultivator, "by allowing the 
ground to be all occupied with plants, we save all the 
labor 'which would be consumed in removing the run- 
ners, and we avoid the necessity of applying a mulch- 
ing to keep the fruit clean." Yery true, you save some 
expense ; but what do you get in return ? A crop of 
fruit not fit for the table — small, insipid, and so dirty, 
if a heavy rain occurs about ripening-time, that it must 
be put through the wash-tub before it is jDlaced on the 
table. It is possible that the market-grower may be 
able to produce berries of this kind at a less price per 
quart than he could by a careful, cleanly, and thorough 
system of culture ; but then he can expect to sell such 
fruit only when no better can be had. We have some 



122 APPENDIX. 

doubts, however, as to the economy of bad culture in 
the long run. K a proper system were adopted at the 
outstart, and followed up with regularity, it would not 
be found so profitless or expensive. In this, as in 
every other kind of culture, a system is absolutely 
necessary. A certain routine of operations which are 
easily executed if taken at the right tune, become bur- 
densome when deferred ; and being so, they are not 
unfrequently put off altogether. Precisely thus it is 
that strawberry beds are neglected, both in market gar- 
dens and private gardens, until they are grown wild 
beyond hope of recovery. Now, we say to every one 
who wishes to cultivate strawberries, resolve at once 
upon abandoning the " lazy -bed " system ; and if you 
cultivate but a square rod, do it well. 

We advise planting in rows not less than two feet 
apart, unless ground be very scarce, when eighteen 
inches might suffice, and the plants to be twelve to eight- 
een inches apart in the rows. In extensive field cul- 
ture, the rows should be at least three feet apart, in 
order to admit the use of the plough and cultivator 
between them, or even the passage of a cart to deposit 
manures or mulching material. The spade and wheel- 
barrow are too costly implements for an extensive cul- 
ture where labor is scarce and high, as with us. From 
the time the plants are set until the fruit is gathered, 
the runners should be cut away as fast as they appear, 
and the ground be kept clear of weeds, and well worked. 

In the fall, or before the setting in of winter, a mulch- 
ing of half-decayed leaves or manure should be placed 
between the rows, coming close around the plants, 
leaving the crown or heart uncovered. This mulching 



APPENDIX. 123 

prevents tlie plants from being drawn out and weak- 
ened, or destroyed by freezing and thawing in winter. 
We have sometimes covered the entire beds, plants and 
all, with newly-fallen leaves ; and by raking them oif 
early in spring, the plants came out in fine order. In 
the same way we have covered with clean wheat straw, 
and found it answer well. In all the Korthern and 
Western States, some winter protection is of great ser- 
vice, although not indispensable. In field culture, the 
earth might be ploughed up to the plants, as is done 
with nursery trees, in such a manner as to afford con- 
siderable protection again the action of frost on the root. 

As soon as the fruit begins to attain its full size, and 
approach maturity, the spaces between the rows, which 
up to this time have been under clean culture, should 
be covered with straw, litter, or moss. This will serve 
the double purpose of keeping the fruit clean and retain- 
ing the moisture in the soil. When copious suppHes 
of water are to be applied, which should always be done 
when practicable, stable litter is a good mulching, as 
the water poured on it carries down with it to the roots 
of the plants the fertilizing materials Avhich it contains. 

The application of water in abundance we must again 
recommend to all who want the finest fruit. Kains are 
very good, but they cannot be relied upon, and they 
always deprive the fruit of its flavor, while artificial 
waterings do not. On this account the French garden- 
ers say that the strawberry "prefers water from the 
well to water from the clouds." It is supposed that 
the electricity which pervades the atmosphere during 
our summer rains, afiects the flavor of the fruit. 

When the crop has been gathered, the mulching ma- 



124 APPENDIX. 

terial between the rows should be removed, and the 
ground be forked over, so that if plants are wanted 
to form a new plantation, their growth will be encour- 
aged. The same plants should not be relied upon for 
more than two crops. The labor of making a new bed, 
save the trenching of the soil, is no more than that of 
planting a plot of cabbages. 

As to the season for planting, we would recommend 
the spring for large plantations, because then there is 
comparatively no risk of failure. The amateur, how- 
ever, who wishes only to plant a bed in his garden, may 
do it at any time that he can procure good plants. If 
the growth of runners is encouraged in July, after the 
fruit is gathered, good, well-rooted runners may be had 
about the first of September, or it may be sooner. The 
young plants nearest the parent plant should always 
be chosen, if possible. In planting during the month 
of August or September, rainy weather should be 
chosen, if possible, but it may be safely done, even in 
a dry time, by using water freely. Water the plants 
well before taking them up, as it injures the roots very 
much to draw them out of dry ground ; then water the 
soil thoroughly where they are to be set, before plant- 
ing. A sprinkling will be of no use : it must go down 
deep, as a heavy rain would. Set the plants in the even- 
ing, and shade them a few days with boards set on 
edge, forming a sort of roof over them. Mulch them, 
too, with short litter ; and it will be well, if the plants 
be large, to remove some of the lower and larger leaves. 
Planting can be done safely in spring any time until 
the plants are in blossom — and all summer, for that 
matter, Avith proper care. 



APPENDIX. 125 

We have thus briefly sketched the principal opera- 
tions in strawberry culture ; not in regular order, it is 
true, but we hope so as to be understood. We are not 
writing a book, and cannot enter into all the details 
with minuteness. We have said nothing of the soil, 
and will only remark that any good garden soil fit to 
produce culinary vegetables, or any good farm land fit 
for grain or root crops, will produce good strawberries ; 
but it must be deeply ploughed, or trenched, say twenty 
inches at least, and liberally manured with well-decom- 
posed stable manure or a good compost. The quantity 
of manure must vary according to the degree of natural 
fertility of the soil. In one case, a quantity equal to 
six inches deep all over the surface would not be too 
much ; while in other cases, half that would be enough. 

We would prefer not to make a strawberry planta- 
tion tAvice on the same ground ; but when circumstances 
render it inconvenient to change, rows of young plants 
might be set, or allowed to establish themselves from 
the runners, between the old rows, which can then be 
turned under with the spade, and will serve to enrich 
the ground. 

Now as to varieties. On this point there is room for 
a great diversity of opinion, and we cannot hope to 
name a list that will be acceptable to a very large num- 
ber of persons, at least in many parts of the country. 
Planters must have recourse to the best experience to 
be found in their respective localities ; in the meantime 
we shall express our opinion of a few varieties, and let 
it go for what it is worth. 

It happens that in this country the greater number 
of our most productive varieties have but one set of the 



126 APPENDIX. 

organs of fecundation. A fruitful flower must have 
both pistils and stamens perfectly developed. The 
stamens are regarded as the male organs, and the pistils 
the female. When a flower has well-developed pistils, 
but no stamens, or imperfect ones, it must be impreg- 
nated by pollen from other flowers. Where a flower 
has no pistils, or has imperfect ones, it is utterly harren. 
A large number of our best American varieties — such 
as Hoveyh Seedling^ Burr's New Pine, McAvoy^s Supe- 
rior, Moyamensing, kc. — are wanting in stamens, and 
therefore foreign impregnation is necessary. In Europe 
this distinction is not observed to any extent, and all 
the English and continental varieties, as far as we know, 
are hermaphrodite. In this country very many of 
them fail from an imperfect development of the pistils, 
and are consequently barren, owing doubtless to the 
effects of climate and culture It is not necessary 
that the two should be in close proximity ; they are 
sure to get impregnated, if in the same garden, as the 
pollen is carried about from one flower to another by 
insects. The beds of the different sorts may be kept 
entirely separate. Mixing them up is a bad way, as 
the one outgrows and' overruns the other, and they 
become so confused that nothing can be done with 
them. On this account many have grown tired of 
keeping up the distinction, and have resolved to culti- 
vate hermaphrodite sorts only. 

The following varieties are the best on the long list 
of those we have tested on our own grounds : 

Pistillate. — Burr's New Pine, Jenny's Seedling, 
McAvoy's Superior, Hovey's Seedling, Moyamensing, 
Monroe Scarlet, and Crimson Cone. The finest fla- 



APPENDIX. 127 

vored variety among these is Burr's New Pine ; the 
largest, Hovey's Seedling ; and the finest and best for 
market, Jenny's Seedling and Crimson Cone. Hovey's 
Seedling, in Western New York, and in many parts of 
the West, is a very moderate, and, in many cases, a 
poor bearer. We have had no crop so heavy the past 
season (when all bore well) as on the Monroe Scarlet. 

Staminate, or Hermaphrodite. — Large Early 
Scarlet, Walker's Seedling, Iowa, Boston Pine, and 
Genesee. All these may be grown successfully for 
market, and are good, without being first-rate in flavor. 
We think much more of Walker's Seedling now than 
we did last season. It is very hardy, and a great 
bearer. It appears to be a seedling from the Black 
Prince. The Boston Pine is the most uncertain on the 
whole list ; without good soil and culture, it fails en- 
tirely. 

Besides the above list, we would recommend to 
amateurs, who are willing to bestow thorough cultiva- 
tion and care on their plants, the British Queen, which, 
when Avell grown, surpasses in size, beauty, and excel- 
lence, any we have named. The Bicton Pine, a large 
and beautiful white variety, which ripens late. We 
have had a fine crop of it this season, although our 
plants — being set last year — were seriously injured last 
winter. Like all the foreign sorts, it needs protection, 
and a deep, rich soil, with abundant moisture. The 
Wood Strawberries — red and white — bear most pro- 
fusely in all places, and last a long time ; besides, they 
part freely from the calyx, and are therefore easily and 
rapidly picked, and their flavor is rich and agreeable 
to most people. In addition to these, we must mention 



128 APPENDIX. 

the Busli Alpine, (having no runners,) perpetual bear- 
ers, if kept liberally supplied with, moisture. They 
deserve much more extensive cultivation than they 
now receive. With their assistance, we may enjoy 
strawberries not one month only, but four months. 



APPENDIX F. 



LETTER FROM B. V. FRENCH. 

Braintree, Mass., August 26, 1853. 
K. Gr. Pardee, Esq. : 

Dear Sir : — I regret to say that the culture of the 
strawberry, with its varieties, is not so well under- 
stood as I could desire. 

The culture I would recommend would be, in a 
yellow sandy soil, trench to the depth of two feet at 
least ; this should be made rich by high manuring, to 
which I would recommend a generous supply of muck 
(decomposed vegetable matter) and spent tanner's 
bark : the whole should be finely mixed in with the 
loam at the time the beds are made up. If the ground 
should be so situated as to admit an ample supply of 
water, it would be of great service, judiciously applied. 
The beds should be made, for convenience, about three 
feet wide, the paths one and a half foot. The plants 
should be grown from the runners of the previous 
year's growth, and the strong ones only made use of, 
taken up from the ground, just as the new leaves begin 
to grow, with as much of their roots on as possible, 



APPENDIX. 129 

your bed being quite mellow. They should, at this 
time, (in early new leaf in the spring,) be trans- 
planted with the roots, to the depth of their greatest 
length. To procure the finest fruit, they should be 
planted in hills, nine inches from the paths, and eight- 
een inches' distance one from the other. As no fruit 
is expected the first season, they should be kept clean 
of weeds, the earth to be kept mellow, and no runners 
allowed to take root. The second year you may look 
for and find a sure reward. The third year, let the 
runners take root ; the yield will be about one-third of 
the preceding year, when you will have a fall supply 
of new plants for a new bed : the old one, should you, 
in August, find it clear of sorrel and white clover, 
you may be classed with the neat gardener. Should 
these infest the beds, they may as well remain till the 
spring following, or till you have taken what new 
plants you may want, when the whole may be dug in, 
leaving your ground in a fine condition for a vine or 
root crop. In some soils the plants may want a slight 
protection from the frost. This, on the sea-coast, may 
be with sea-weed ; in the interior, with wheat o^; rye 
straw. 

Varieties. — The kind a cultivator should never 
exclude from his garden is the Early Virginia. Let 
him always keep a full supply of these; they are 
reliable when others fail. Next to this, for large ber- 
ries and a great yield, is Jenney's Seedling. Hovey's 
Seedling, and Boston Pine, in some seasons are very- 
fine. They should be in hills, under high cultivation, 
and with me not always satisfactory. Longworth's 

7« 



180 APPENDIX. 

Prolific, Walker's Seedling, and Burr's New Pine, 
promise well. There are a great number of others 
which I have tried that are good ; but if I was to have 
but two kinds, they should be the Early Virginia and 
Jenney's Seedling ; but you are aware, Sir, that these 
small fruits, which are such great luxuries, are like the 
large ones : we must try them all, and we often have 
occasion to change our minds on the trial of new 
varieties. 

Yours, with respect, 

B. Y. French. 

P.S. — I have near forty varieties of the strawberry 
growing, but they are not sufficiently tested to give an 
opinion on. 



APPENDIX G. 
LETTER FROM PETER B. MEAD. 

September 1st, 1854. 

E. G. Pardee, Esq. : Dear Sir — Your request, 
that I would give you a few remarks on the culture of 
the strawberry, I will now comply with, but necessa- 
rily in a brief manner. First let me say, that I am 
glad to learn that you are about to publish a manual 
on strawberry culture. Your long experience and 
marked success will enable you to invest the subject 
with unusual interest. 

"We cannot always command just such a soil as we 
want; but we generally 'have the material at hand to 



APPENDIX. 131 

modify it so as to answer our purpose very well. For 
the strawberry I prefer a sandy loam, well drained, 
and a southern exposure. An eastern aspect is also 
good. Animal manures I do not use, except on a few 
of the hermaphrodites, and then very sparingly, and 
only that which is well decomposed. I much prefer 
prepared muck, leaf-mould, &c. When a stimulant is 
required, a solution of guano, the salts of ammonia, 
dilute tannic acid, or a top-dressing of guano, super- 
phosphate of lime, potash, &c., answers the purpose 
well. I prefer the guano, ammonia, and tannic acid. 
In a garden, strawberries should be planted in beds, 
and each kind kept distinct. Make the beds three feet 
wide, put three plants in a row, the two outside ones 
being 6 inches from the edge of the bed ; the plants 
will then be one foot apart. The rows should be 18 
inches apart ; but in a small garden they may be one 
foot apart. Select young plants in preference to old 
ones. Set the plant up to the crown, but do not cover 
it. Keep the ground open and porous, and free from 
weeds. A word as to the best time for planting. I 
prefer early spring ; but where a supply of water is at 
hand, it may be done at any time ; for only give the straw- 
berry plenty of water, and it will defy any amount of 
heat. I would remark, en passant^ that whoever at- 
tempts to water his strawberries must do it thoroughly, 
if he would have his plants derive any benefit from it. 
A thorough soaking once a week will do more good 
than fifty sprinklings a day. Where water is not at 
hand, the planting should be done during August and 
September, taking advantage of a heavy rain. I prefer 
the early part of September ; in fact, I have planted 



132 APPENDIX. 

Hovey, Burr's New Pine, Walker's Seedling, and 
others, as late as the 21st of October, and every plant 
survived the winter without covering of any kind ; but 
I would not recommend planting later than September. 

Next a few words abou.t mulching and after-treat- 
ment. Latterly I have seldom resorted to mulching. 
I have a rake 7 inches wide with prongs 8 inches long, 
made of highly tempered steel. This is my mulcher. 
"With this instrument I work between the rows from 
spring till fall ; and frequently when the plants are in 
fruit. I know I shall be told that this is a dangerous 
practice, and I admit that it is in inexperienced hands ; 
indeed, I would not trust another to use it among my 
own plants, owing to the danger of injuring their 
fibres ; and yet I use it myself within an inch of the 
crown. When, therefore, I cannot give the necessary 
personal attention to my plants, I resort to the next 
best mulcher, which is tan^ either spent or fresh. I 
prefer the latter. The ground should first be well 
stirred, and the tan applied not more than one inch 
thick. If too much is applied, it is apt to ferment and 
kill the plants. Many fine beds have been destroyed 
in this Avay. Where tan cannot be had, leaves from 
the woods may be used. These make an admirable 
mulch, and promise, in my opinion, to take the first 
place among mulchers. Hay, straw, grass, sawdust, 
(Sec, are also good ; but whatever is used for this pur- 
pose, the crown of the plants must in no case be 
covered. 

The beds having been properly made, the after-treat- 
ment becomes a very simple matter ; indeed, I know 
of no plant that gives such generous returns at so 



APPENDIX, 138 

small a cost of labor ; but you must not infer from 
this that I justify any thing like neglect. The beds 
must be looked over occasionally, runners removed, 
weeds pulled up, and every thing kept neat and clean. 
In the spring, rake the mulching into the walks, stir up 
the soil, apply a top-dressing if needed, and then put 
back the mulching. The best mode, however, is to 
apply one of the solutions before mentioned, after the 
fruit has set. The bearing-season may be considerably 
prolonged by thorough watering, and will amply repay 
the trouble where the means are at hand. As soon as 
the plants have done bearing, they will throw out run- 
ners, which must be pinched off, unless plants are 
wanted for new beds. I have no time to add more 
here, except to say, that he who would have good 
strawberries must cultivate them ; by which I mean 
the opposite of letting them take care of themselves. 

You will doubtless expect me to add a few words in 
regard to some of the leading varieties ; but it would 
be impolitic for me to say much on this point, since 
you know I am now testing all the new varieties, and 
conducting a series of exi^eriments having reference to 
the natural history of this most interesting plant. 
Friends have furnished me with varieties entirely new, 
and not yet sent out ; but these I have only had under 
trial since last May, and it would be quite premature 
to say much about them, though some of them are 
very promising. I am daily expecting more. At some 
future time I shall review them all. I do not hesitate 
to say, however, that the folloAving are good, without, 
at present, designating them in any other way: 
McAvoy's Superior, Hovey's Seedling, Moyamensing, 



134 APPENDIX. 

Burr's New Pine, Black Prince, Pennsylvania, Mc- 
Avoy's Extra Eed, (rather acid,) Boston Pine, Alice 
Maude, Longworth's Prolific, Excellente, Walker's 
Seedling, Beach's Queen, Large Early Scarlet, Ange- 
lique. But I rather think I will stop, for I know not 
where this may lead me. Barr's ISTew White and Bicton 
Pine are both large white varieties ; the former is best. 

You also tell me you mean to add some directions 
about the culture of currants, gooseberries, and other 
small fruits, as well as the grape. These things should 
be better grown than they generally are. Gooseberries 
and currants are usually seen as a mass of half-decay- 
ed branches, without form or sightliness. Jt is next 
to impossible to bring these into shape, or develop 
their maximum productiveness. It is better to begin 
anew. Procure plants struck from cuttings; grow 
them with a clean stalk not less than six inches in 
height ; prune them every winter, keeping the heads 
well open, and shorten in last season's growth in the 
currant, but not in the gooseberry. These fruits are 
generally planted against the fence, or in some out-of- 
the-Avay corner, just where they should not be. Give 
them an open exposure, plenty of manure, and good 
culture, and you will be amply rewarded. The Ked 
Dutch is best for general purposes; but Knight's 
Sweet Eed, Cherry, Prince Albert, White Grape, and 
others, may be added where there is room. 

The raspberry and blackberry are also desirable in 
a garden, furnishing a delicious fruit at an opportune 
season. They both require a deep, rich soil. The 
blackberry may be planted against an east fence, and 
the raspberry against a west fence — about the best 



APPENDIX. 135 

places in a garden. The old wood of the raspberry 
should be cut out after it has ceased bearing, and some 
four or five canes of the ncAV growth retained for next 
season. The blackberry should be winter-pruned, 
and shortened in about the last of July. They 
should both be tied to stakes or to the fence, and the 
ground kept free from weeds. Of raspberries, the 
Fastolf, Eed Antwerp, and White Antwerp are among 
the best. Dr. Brinckle, has raised several seedlings, 
one of which. Col. Wilder, I have grown, and found 
to be good. The above, in some localities, will need 
protection in winter, which is best done by bending 
down the canes and covering them with earth. Mr. 
Yan Dewenter, of Astoria, has a new ever-bearing 
raspberry, which will prove to be an acquisition. 

Of blackberries, the Improved High Bush (of 
Boston) and the New Rochelle are now pretty well 
known. The latter is certainly the best, and most 
productive : it is a most beautiful fruit, and worthy of 
general cultivation. I saw a basket of this fruit from 
Mr. Rosevelt, of Pelham, Westchester Co., the berries 
of which measured from three to three inches and a 
half in circumference. Mr. Lawton has also shown 
fine specimens. About a year since, while at Chester, 
Morris Co., N. J., I saw a blackberry growmg wild, 
closely resembling the New Rochelle, and quite equal 
to it. I have a variety, however, which I consider su- 
})erior to either of the above m point of flavor. It is 
very distinct in w^ood and foliage, and a strong grower. 
It is a hybrid variety, and may be had of Mr. More, 
of Yorkville. 

To say any thing important of the grape in a few 



186 APPENDIX. 

lines, is no easy matter. The best soil, I apprehend, is a 
gi^avelly loam, thoroiigldy underdrained^ and subsoiled 
or trenched. We expect the vine to yield its fruit for 
a lifetime at least, and should |)repare the soil accord- 
ingly. The ground having been trenched, dig a hole 
not less than three feet square and two feet deep, and 
fill up nearly a foot with a compost of manure, bones, 
broken charcoal, lime rubbish, and vegetable mould, or 
as many of these materials as can be procured, but no 
dead dogs, cats, or horses. Over this compost put a 
layer of the best soil ; then take your vine, spread 
the roots in their natural position, and fill up carefully. 
Yines three and four years old are the best, if they 
have been properly cared for ; otherwise I would pre- 
fer those two years old. Pruning is a matter of the 
first importance. In gardens, vines are grown upon 
either arbors or trellises, and the same kind of pruning 
will not answer for both. The arbor is generally used 
for the purpose of shade as well as fruit, and here spur- 
pruning is generally practised, but carried to such an 
extreme, that in the course of years the vines become 
knotty, stunted, and unproductive. The first year, 
little or no pruning is necessary ; if there is much to]), 
fiowever, it must be cut in to two or three good eyes. 
The vine is very tractable, and may be trained in the 
most symmetrical manner ; this, however, is too often 
done at the expense of the best fruit- wood. In the 
case of the arbor, after the leaders have been trained 
to their places, and the vines have come into bearing, 
do not prune closer than three eyes. K the growth is 
likely to be too much, rub out the middle eye, leaving 
the third for fruit, and the first for bearing next year ; 



APPENDIX. 137 

at which time cut away all the wood clown to this .first 
shoot, which latter must be cut to three eyes, rubbing 
out the second as before, and so on from year to year. 
The truth is, it would require several pages to explain 
this matter fully, but I have no time for it. In the 
case of the trellis, what gardeners call cane-pruning is 
the best. Select as many shoots as are wanted, and 
cut out all the rest; these shoots are then shortened 
in to the first good eye ; but if this should leave them 
too long, they must be cut to the desired length. I 
regret that I have not time to explain this fully ; but 
the principle is, to get rid of last year's bearing- wood, 
and keep the new wood as near to the body as pos- 
sible. The grape border must be manured, spaded, 
and cultivated with as much care as you would bestow 
on a crop of corn. A summer pruning is also neces- 
sary, which consists in thinning out the superfluous 
gTowth, and pinching in the laterals. The leaves of 
the grape vine must in no case be removed. The best 
time to prune is the fall and early winter. 

The best grapes for this latitude are the Isabella, 
Catawba, and Early Black, or Madeira ; the latter only 
for the garden ; the Charter Oak, Eoyal Muscadine, (a 
synonym,) and others of that class, are worthless hum- 
bugs. The Diana is a small, sweet, and rather plea- 
sant grape, and desirable for localities where the 
Isabella will not ripen. The Clinton and some others, 
which are well spoken of, I have had no opportunity 
of testing; and I have seen the fruit of niany seed- 
lings, which deserve no fiu-ther mention, with the ex- 
ception of a white variety, with the Catawba flavor, 



138 APPENDIX. 

and ripening 1st of September. I think this last will 
prove to be a very good grape. 

But this letter has reached a great length, and I 
must close it, with all its shortcomings. If it contains 
any thing of use to you for the purposes of your man- 
ual, you are at liberty to do what you please with it. 
Sincerely yours, Peter B. Mead. 



APPENDIX H. 

From the "American Agriculturist," Sept, 1854. 
THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GARDEN. 

BY AN AMATEUR. 

There are few accessories of the homestead more 
important than a good fruit and vegetable garden ; no 
home is perfect without them. If there is one thing 
more than another which adds to the comforts of a poor 
man's cottage, it is a well-kept garden, in its largest 
sense ; nay, it is a luxury, even to the millionaire. A 
well-regulated house within, and a well-kept garden 
without, make up much of the sum of human happi- 
ness. How few such there are ! The garden is too 
generally looked upon as something to minister to the 
mere appetite ; but, when rightly regarded, it exercises 
a moral and intellectual influence which gives it a 
strong claim to the serious consideration of all who feel 
any concern in the ultimate destiny of the human race 
Horticultural pursuits, above all others, bring int( 
healthy play those powers of body and mind, the mu- 
tual exercise of which alone can keep up that just 
equilibrium of the physical, intellectual, and moral 
forces, which makes the true man. 



APPENDIX. ' 139 

I will now submit a few practical remarks on what 
may be called the Cottage Vegetable Garden, or rather, 
Fruit and Vegetable Garden ; for, on a limited plot, 
they ought not to be separated. There is no good 
reason why a man with three or four city lots, each 
25 by 100 feet, should not indulge the luxury of a few 
choice fruits, equally with him who owns his acres. 

In what follows, it is supposed that the lots run 
north and south, the house being built on the north 
front, and the flower-garden separated from the vege- 
table by a rose-trellis the full width of the lots. The 
flower-garden and lawn will occupy another article. 

Let us suppose a man has four lots of ground, two 
of which are taken up with a house, lawn, flower-gar- 
den, &c. He will then have a plot 50 by 100 for a 
fruit and vegetable garden. Now it will not do to use 
half of this up with walks — a thing quite too common. 

Beginning at the rose-trellis, lay off a central walk 
four feet wide, through the length of the garden ; then, 
immediately behind the rose-trellis, lay off a grape- 
border ten feet wide, and parallel with this a walk 
three feet wide, stopping three feet short of each side- 
fence ; then borders three feet wide next the east and 
west fence ; then, parallel with these, a walk three feet 
Avdde ; then a central walk four feet wide, tlirough the 
width of the garden, and a walk three feet \vide close 
to the south fence. This arrangement will make four 
large central beds, each 40 by 17 feet, besides the bor- 
ders. The beds and borders should be edged with 
box, kept closely cut. The whole garden should be 
trenched two or three feet deep. To make the walks, 
dig out the soil three feet deep ; fill in with stones about 



14:0 APPENDIX. 

one foot, and cover them with stout brush ; then put in 
the soil, and finish with about six inches of coarse sand 
or gravel, raising the walks a little in the middle. EoU 
them from time to time till thej become settled; a 
good coating of salt will help to make them hard, and 
keep them free from weeds. Walks thus made will 
keep your feet dry, and your beds tolerably well 
drained — the latter an object which should never be 
lost sight of, especially where early fruit and vegetables 
are desired. There are some matters connected with 
grading and levelling, which must be determined by 
the circumstances of each particular case. Lastly, 
there should be some eighteen inches of good soil, of 
which sod mould is the very best. ISTo amateur can 
hope to have a good garden, pleasantly worked, unless 
every thing is properly prepared from the beginning ; 
hence these particulars. 

Now let us see what permanent "fixtures" are 
wanted. Four feet from the rose-trellis, put in a row 
of posts, six or seven feet high and eight feet apart, 
upon which stretch four stout wires. Plant a grape 
vine between each post, and keep them well pruned, 
on the cane system. Eschew all charlatans and hum- 
bugs, whether in the shape of men or vines, and among 
the latter especially, the Charter Oak. The walk, if 
made as directed, will keep this border well drained — 
a matter of much moment where well-flavored grapes 
are desired. Two or three loads of gravel, incorpo- 
rated with the soil, would make it still more congenial 
to the grape. Between each vine, and some three feet 
from the box edging, put in a rhubarb plant, and 
under it a good heap of manure. This is a good 



APPENDIX. 141 

arrangement, notwithstanding some may object to it. 
In the centre of this border, where the wide walk in- 
tersects it, a STimmer-house may be erected. 

In the border along the e?st fence, plant the black- 
berry, some three or four feet apart. In the west bor- 
der, plant the raspberry, at about the same distance. 
It would be well, however, to reserve a portion of 
the west border for a few plants of sage, parsley, 
thyme, &c. 

There now remain the four large beds, the borders 
of which may be occupied with dwarf fruit trees ; no 
others should ever be grown in a garden, and by no 
means plant them in an auger-hole. I would recom- 
mend chiefly pears; but, for the sake of variety, a 
couple of plums, apricots, cherries, quinces, &c., may 
be added. These should be planted in the border of 
the large beds, about three feet from the box edging, 
and some eight feet apart. Between each tree a cur- 
rant or gooseberry bush may be planted ; these should 
be raised from cuttings, grown to a single stalk, and 
regularly winter-pruned. This mode of planting is 
good in itself, and leaves all but the border of the 
large beds for vegetables, strawberries, &c. One bed 
may be occupied with strawberries and asparagus, but 
the latter must be kept three or four feet from the 
fruit trees. 

Having disposed of the principal permanent arrange- 
ments, let us look for a moment at such vegetables as 
will have to be raised annually. For this purpose we 
have left three of the large beds. It is taken for 
granted that a good supply of well-prepared barn-yard 
manure has been procured, as well as a set of steel 



142 APPENDIX. 

garden implements, wliicb. latter should always be kept 
as bright as a new penny. First make up your mind 
what you will grow, and how much of it. Then spread 
on a good coating of manure, and spade twelve inches 
deep. It is surprising to a novice how much can be 
grown on a given surface. Beets, carrots, salsify, 
parsnips, lima beans, and some others, will occupy 
the ground the whole season. Beets should be sown 
thick, in drills six inches apart, each alternate row to 
be used for greens, as well as the thinnings of the 
others. Between the carrots, &c., radishes may be 
sown. Lettuce, radishes, &c., may be sown in the 
raspberry and blackberry borders. Peas should be 
sown in double drills six inches apart, at intervals of 
three feet. Between the peas may be planted beets 
for greens, radishes, spinach, lettuce, &c., making two 
drills of each. The peas will come off in time for 
turnips, late cabbage, broccoli or celery; the latter 
should be planted in beds, the earth thrown out one 
spade deep, the celery planted in rows one foot apart, 
and the plants from six to ten inches in the roAvs. Snap 
beans will be off in time for cabbage, turnips, fall 
spinach, &c. If beans are wanted in the fall, they may 
follow onions, where these have been grown from sets. 
A few cucumbers may be planted in the fruit border. 
Sugar-corn should be planted in drills three feet apart, 
the plants six inches in the drills for the small early 
varieties, and about a foot for others. For a succession, 
plant from early spring till the first w^eek in July, two 
or more drills at a time, according to the wants of the 
family. Corn may be planted after some of the crops 
named above. K one piece of ground is used, a por- 



APPENDIX. 143 

tion of it will give you some early spinach and peas. 
Kadishes may also be planted from time to time along 
the fruit border, but too much of this will injure the 
trees. A few egg-plants and peppers may also be 
planted in the fruit border, but not immediately under 
the trees. By the exercise of a little judgment, a 
variety of things m.ay be made to follow each other in 
this way, so that no spot of ground need necessarily 
remain unoccupied for a single day during the whole 
season. 

The ground must be kept free from weeds, and well 
worked at all times. When the weather is dry, use the 
hoe more frequently than usual, (a narrow, long-pronged 
rake is best,) which will enable the ground to absorb 
moisture from the atmosphere, of which it always con- 
tains some, even in the dryest weather. Frequent 
stiring of the soil is important in another respect, in 
keeping it open and porous, and enabling it to take 
up the gases of the atmosphere, which constitute no 
inconsiderable portion of the food of plants. It will 
also give an earlier and better crop. Discard the prac- 
tice of earthing your plants, except for the purpose of 
blanching. Hilling should not be tolerated, except in 
soils naturally retentive of moisture ; the true remedy 
for which consists in underdraining, and not in hilling. 

The preceding remarks are mostly of a general 
nature, but a few words may be said here of the time 
and labor necessary to cultivate and keep in order a 
garden like that here described. A person familiar 
with the operations to be performed, and expert in the 
use of implements, can generally perform the necessary 
labor (unless he is dronish) without detriment to his 



144 APPENDIX. 

daily business ; on the contrary, lie will find himself 
invigorated for the discharge of its duties. At all 
events, he will need but a few days' assistance for the 
rough work. I know that very much more than this 
has been done for years, and will continue to be done. 
I speak this for the encouragement of those who desire 
to surround their homes with these luxuries, but whose 
means will not permit them to employ a permanent 
gardener. Much time is lost for want of proper know- 
ledge. The best advice I can give the novice is, first 
to learn what is to be done, and then learn how to do 
it, and always do it well. May the day come when 
even the common laborer shall be blessed with the 
comforts of a good home, and rejoice "under his own 
vine and" fruit "tree!" 



3 477 



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